Screen Behind the Mirror
by bhotanni
Summary: AU of Passing the Torch. Tommy's control on reality begins to slip. minor change to Chapter 4. And Chapter 5 is now up! Please R&R!
1. The Gate

_**Disclaimer**: Saban/Disney not me created/owns the characters.   
**Author's Notes**: This is an alternate take on Passing of the Torch. Rocky and Jason are powerless but still hang with Rangers when they have down time. And anyone who has held the Morphin' Power retains some residual Power. They can't Morph or call on Zords but they possess accelerated senses, strength and healing. David is Tommy's twin brother but ironically they were born at the almost same moment. This is my first attempt at fanfic . Please be brutal:)_

The Screen Behind the Mirror  
Part I: The Gate  
by: Bhotanni

The sun high in the sky reflected the heat waves rising up from the ground. The waves formed a giant lake forever seen in the distance. The shadow of the mountains provided the only shade as a red pickup truck drove along a dusty road. "Are you _sure_ we're not lost, Tommy?" Kat asked sitting in the passenger's seat next to her friend. "We've past that gift stand three times already." 

"We're not lost Kat, I know where we are, and I know where we're going." Tommy smiled. 

"But do you know how to get us from where we are to where we're supposed to be?" Kat responded. "I think we're lost and you're too proud to admit it. Let's just stop at the gift stand and ask for directions, I'm sure _somebody_ knows how to get there. We're late enough as it is! Rocky's probably already eaten all the food!" 

"Oh, alright," He conceded. "But I'm sure Jason and Adam can keep him away from the food until we get there." He smiled. Just as Tommy was about to head back to the gift shop, the truck was jostled as someone rammed them from behind. "What the..." He checked the rearview mirror to see several Piranhatrons on motorcycles racing toward him. 

"Oh great! This is just great!" Kat exclaimed between bumps. 

"Kat! Try to contact the others!" Tommy shouted trying to remain in control of the truck. The Piranhatrons had begun firing at them and it was becoming more difficult to stay in control. 

Kat never had the chance to call for help. A Piranhatron had managed to pull up to the left side of the truck. Tommy had swerved to ram him when the Piranhatron fired a shot aiming for the engine, but hit the front left tire instead. The truck fish-tailed uncontrollably wiping out two Piranhatrons. He regained partial control and tried slamming on the breaks in order to take out a few more Piranhatrons riding his tail, but discovered the breaks had given out on him. "Damn!" he swore "That shot must've hit the brake line too!" Quickly looking at his options, he made a quick decision. "Kat! Open your door!" "What?" Kat screamed. "Are you crazy

"Kat, I don't have time to argue, _do it_!" Tommy ordered.

She opened the door and looked back to Tommy hoping he'd do the same. When he didn't, she was suddenly more frightened than she'd ever been in her life. "Tommy. . ." Before she could say more, he shoved her out of the truck. Rolling to a stop, Kat looked up as a few yards away from her, the front of the truck exploded. "NOOOO!" the pain filled cry ripped from her body. She tried to get up and run toward him, but her progress was sluggish. She looked down and noticed a large gash on the outside of her leg. 

****

"Your name must be Visa, 'cause you're _every_where I wanna be." A grotesque looking man spoke to a girl while riding on a bus. "Girl you must be tired, 'cause you been running through my mind _all_ day." 

_Man! This guy has tried every pickup line in the book on me. Ugh, I wish he'd just go away!_ Cassie sighed as she tries to ignore the man sitting next to her. "Really. I'm not interested," she told the man for the twelfth time in four hours. _At least he'll be gone after the next stop. I can't wait to get to Stone Canyon. If for no reason more than to be off this bus!_ She thought as the next stop approached. 

When the bus pulled into a terminal at a large Bus Station for a twenty-minute layover until the next departure, Cassie got off the bus to stretch her legs. She'd just started shopping at one of the little kiosks when she realized she didn't have much time to get back to the bus.  Making a mad dash through the station she just made it time. All the seats were full except for one next to a young black man who looked about the same age as her. _God, I hope he's better than the last one._

Seeing her head his way TJ looked at the girl and thought to himself. _Man, is she _pretty_!_ Seeing that she had a few bags in her arms, he offered to take them for her and put them in the overhead compartments. She thanked him and sat down. 

"Hi! My name is TJ what's yours?" 

"Cassie Chan. Nice to meet you." She looked into his warm eyes and immediately felt a sense of relief. His smile was genuine and he had an honest feel about him. _Please, oh please don't let him be a jerk!_ Cassie prayed silently. 

After a few moments of timid introductions, the two warmed up to each other quickly. Cassie learned that TJ was headed to Stone Canyon to meet up with a cousin who was in minor league baseball. She also learned that TJ practically ate slept and drank baseball and that it was his dream to play in the majors one day. TJ learned that Cassie's parents had died recently and she was on her way to live with her aunt in Angel Grove. He also learned that she loved singing; she had even hummed a few bars of a song she'd been writing. 

The two had become fast friends by the time the bus came to a stop at a gift shop along the way. Chatting away outside the gift shop, TJ heard an explosion in the distance. "Did you hear that?" 

"Hear what?" Cassie asked. She had also heard the explosion but did not want to get involved. 

Searching the sky for the telltale smoke, TJ spotted it a little ways away. "I've got to see if anyone's hurt!" So saying, he dashed off in the direction of the smoke. 

"Wait! You can't go! The bus is about to leave!" Cassie shouted after him. Frustrated, she returned to the bus. "Sir, please! Can you wait a few minutes for my friend?" She pleaded to the bus driver. 

"Look," The driver said.  "I've got a schedule to keep and I'm already behind schedule. Either take your stuff or get on the bus. I've got to go." 

Cassie was torn, she looked back and forth between the bus and TJ's rapidly disappearing figure. _Oh, what the hell._ She grabbed her things. Quickly, she asked the owner of the gift shop if she could leave her things by the door and the owner told her not to take too long. She agreed and dashed off after TJ. 

****

_I've got to do something!_ Kat thought. _Come on Kat, you have to get up. If you don't, the Piranhatrons will find you and you'll be a goner for sure!_ She tried standing up again, but fell right back on her butt. _OK, think Kat, think. You can't stay here much longer, they'll spot you. _Trying the think of what to do she cursed. "Damn! If only I could Morph. . ." The lights went on in her head. She morphed, quickly. _Yes! Just like I knew it would._ Kat smiled. Though her leg had not completely healed, she was able to stand and walk on it. Just in time too, for the Piranhatrons had just taken interest in her. 

She noticed two young teens, a boy and a girl. The boy was dressed in red and the girl was dressed in pink.  They had snuck up behind three Piranhatrons, edging their way toward Tommy. With surprise on their side, the pair made quick work of Divatox's footmen. The girl twisted and turned in smooth complex motions as the boy worked energetically against the footmen using his muscles and wit. 

Rushing to Tommy's side, the girl checked him over.  The two lifted him up. Carrying him on their shoulders, the duo put as much distance as they could between themselves, the Piranhatrons, and most especially the truck. No sooner had they begun to move away, the truck exploded in a huge fireball, knocking everyone to the ground with the aftershock.  

****

"Ooh! My plan is working perfectly!" Divatox exclaimed as she watched the action from the viewer aboard her submarine. "Soon, Tommy will be out of the picture and those pesky Ranger Brats will be without a leader! This jamming device I've set up will make certain Dimitria won't be able to warn those. . ." she had so much disdain for the Rangers that she couldn't repeat their name. Taking a deep breath, she continued with the most evil smile of sated delight. "Tommy will be out of the picture before Kat can get to the rest of her friends." 

"I'd say he's pretty much out of the picture now Auntie D," Elgar bubbled. 

"You idiot!" Divatox swatted her nephew upside the head. "Tommy is protected! Why do you think every plan to kill him or turn him evil has ultimately failed!" Licking her lips and rubbing her hands together, she continued. "No, what I've got planned for the Power Brats' illustrious leader is much more insidious than turning him evil or even killing him!" She cackled loudly as she resumed watching the escapade on the viewer. 

"What do you have planned Auntie D! Tell me tell me! Ahh come on! You can tell me!" Elgar whined until he saw her whip her head around to stare at him with two furious eyes. "Uhh, never mind!" He said quickly, and then excused himself. He found the farthest place away from her on board the sub and hid there until her frustrated anger at him subsided. 

****

TJ ran towards the sound of the explosion. Hearing the sounds of fighting as he neared his destination, he slowed down and ducked behind a dirt mound to assess the situation. A girl wearing a spandex costume and a helmet to cover her face was fighting off a dozen metallic fish men. It appeared she was trying to make her way to a young man lying unconscious next to the pickup truck near by. _She must be a Power Ranger. _He had seen them on TV before but he always thought it was some publicity stunt or something. Now he realized all those monster attacks his cousin told him about and what he'd seen on TV were true. 

Getting a closer look at the truck, TJ realized it would not be long before the entire truck exploded. He was just about to jump up and run toward the truck to help the young man, when someone tapped his shoulder. He nearly jumped out of his skin. Turning around to see who it was, he relaxed. It was only Cassie. "I thought you went with the bus." 

"I was going to, but this little voice in my head said you'd need help." She smiled as she crouched down beside him. "So, what's the plan? I hope you don't think we can take them straight on if that Power Ranger over there can't do it either." Taking a moment to get a better feel of the fight, Cassie said to herself. _I wonder where the other Rangers are? I thought they usually fought as a group._

"Hey don't the Rangers usually fight as a group?" TJ queried echoing her unspoken thought. 

"I was thinking the same thing." Cassie replied watching the Pink Ranger take a nasty hit to the side of the head. "Ouch! That's _got_ to hurt," looking back at TJ she urged. "Come on, we have to help her!" 

"But how?" 

"I think she's got all of those . . .those things" Cassie pointed at the Piranhatrons, "occupied. She's trying to get that guy by the truck. I think we can sneak over there and get him without being noticed." TJ looked at her incredulously. "OK" she conceded. "We'll at least be able to get him a safe distance from that truck. Once that fire reaches the gas line it's all over!" 

"You've got a point." TJ said, "Let's do this." They snuck their way past the Piranhatrons. It seemed as if the Pink Ranger had spotted them, for she suddenly switched tactics. Instead of trying to edge her way toward the truck, she started to draw the fight away from it. 

Cassie and TJ were almost to the young man when they were spotted by the Piranhatrons. Throwing stealth to the wind they dashed to the unconscious man and quickly pulled him up by the arms, both putting an arm around their shoulder and ran as fast as they could. They were nearly back to the mound when the truck blew up. The concussion wave from the blast knocked them all to the ground. The Piranhatrons were on them in an instant. Cassie kicked and punched her way to a standing position. They were grossly outnumbered but she was not going to give up without a fight. "Man, what are these things made of?" Cassie yelled after a solid connection to a Piranhatron's jaw with her fist. Every time she hit one of those things it felt like she was going to brake her hand. TJ and Cassie stood back to back as the Piranhatrons encroached closer and closer, taking turns at beating them up. Then from out of nowhere, a streak of blaster beams took out the Piranhatrons nearest them. Looking in the direction the shots came from, the duo saw the Pink Ranger standing a few yards away blaster in hand. 

****

Kat had no way to reach Tommy. Although Morphed, she was still outnumbered and couldn't make any head way to the truck. _Damn! I wish I could get enough breathing room to contact the guys!_ She cursed while dodging a blow from one of the Piranhatrons after her. That was when she saw two teens, a boy and a girl, trying to sneak their way to Tommy. Switching tactics, she tried drawing the enemy's attention from the truck. She nearly succeeded when one of them caught on to what she was doing. Most of them ignored her and rushed after the teens trying to rescue Tommy. A lucky shot sent her flying. Dazed, she shook off the pain to see the teens trying to help her, were in trouble. Standing up shakily she took out her blaster and fired at the Piranhatrons nearest the teens. She quickly closed the gap between her, Tommy, and the teens. Jumping in to the fight the tide of the battle shifted in their favor. That is, until more Piranhatrons teleported in. Before the three of them realized it. The Piranhatrons had snatched Tommy, and were gone. 

"What?" The young girl looked around puzzled when the Piranhatrons suddenly left. "Did we win?" She glanced to her companion for confirmation, but all he did was shrug.

"DAMN IT!" Kat swore violently. The two teens looked at each other in shock. 

"What's wrong?" the young man asked her timidly. 

"They took him!" 

The duo looked around for Tommy. Sure enough, he was nowhere in sight. 

****

"Damn! What's taking them so long?" Adam looked at his watch for the tenth time in as many minutes. He paced around the campsite where Tommy and Kat were supposed to meet them three hours ago. "Tommy's got a habit for being late, but he's never _this_ late!" 

Getting dizzy, Tanya walked up to Adam and put her hands on his shoulders to stop his pacing. "I'm sure if there were any problems they'd have called or something." 

Adam slumped his shoulders in defeat. "I guess your right." He conceded to his girlfriend's better wisdom. "And besides, if they _couldn't, _Dimitria would've contacted us." 

Jason, Rocky, Justin, and David sat around a fire they'd built in the center of camp. Jason stood up and walked over to his friend to reassure him. "Adam, don't worry. They probably got stuck in traffic or something like that. Tommy can take care of himself." _Then why do you have a sneaky feeling that Adam may be right? _Jason refused to answer that thought and continued to pour out supporting words to his friend while trying to quiet the worry he himself felt. 

Another hour later, even Jason felt the temptation to use his communicator to find out what was taking his friends so long. It was getting dark and they'd still heard nothing. Justin had went off to the hole they had dug earlier to use the bathroom. _Man! Something is wrong. I know it. _

His suspicions were confirmed, at least partially when he heard Justin's startled yell. The whole gang dashed off to the potty hole. There, they were met by the ugliest monster they had ever seen. It called itself Flamite while it literally kicked Justin's ass. Justin fell to the ground and got up almost immediately feeling extremely ticked. "OK, flame bucket. You're gonna get it!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, and kicked him in the back of the leg just underneath its right knee cap. Then after bringing his opponent a little closer to his level, Justin connected a solid spinning heel kick to the monsters head. While it was momentarily stunned, the Rangers Morphed. Jason, Rocky, and David did their best to put out the fires the monster was creating from missed attacks on the Rangers. Watching Jason splash a bucket of water on a burning bush, Adam got an idea. Over the internal comm. unit in Rangers' helmets, Adam spelled out his plan. Justin started taunting the monster with very childish insults. "Ya mama was a Bunsen burner." He barely avoided a char broiled tush for that one. "You're so stupid you can't even avoid a bucket of water." He shouted out. 

"Wha?" Was all the monster could get out before getting splashed with the buckets of water the Rangers, Jason, Rocky, and David all held in their hands. "AGHHH!" He screamed as his torch went out and then ran away as fast as he could. 

"Man, that was too easy." Justin proclaimed with a grin on his face as he demorphed. When he saw the looks on the faces of his comrades he asked "What? What'd I say?" 

"Why'd you have ta go an say that?" Rocky groaned. 

"I don't get it?" Justin said. 

"_Every_ time someone says that. Something . . ." he didn't get the chance to finish his sentence because, at that precise moment, Rygor appeared out of nowhere with Piranhatrons. "Damn!" He cursed. 

"Here we go again! It's Morphin' Time!" Adam called out. Then three Rangers Morphed and jumped into battle. 

Jason, Rocky and David hung back from the battle. Jason tried to contact Tommy and Kat with his communicator only to have it knocked from his wrist by a Piranhatron "It looks like we aren't sitting this one out after all." He mumbled, as David and the two ex-Rangers got into it with the Piranhatrons 

With their accelerated strength and reflexes, residual effects from having held the Power, Rocky and Jason were more than holding their own against the rusted tin cans that called themselves footmen for Divatox. David, not having any special abilities other than his martial arts, was holding out, but he was already showing signs of fatigue. "Damn! It feels like I'm hitting raw iron!" He yelled out after hitting a Piranhatron at a less than perfect angle with his fist. This day could only get worse.

****

"Alpha, please try to cut through the interference." Dimitria intoned, very concerned. Roughly twenty minutes ago, she suddenly lost contact with all her Rangers at once. Alpha had surmised Divatox had used some type of jamming device to disrupt the Power Chamber's tracking and communication systems. "We must get communications between the Rangers up. They need to know what is going on." _Whatever that may be._ Dimitria had a feeling that this plan the villainess had devised was at last going to be successful. _Great Divine, please keep my Rangers safe._ She silently prayed.

"I've almost hacked through it." Alpha exclaimed while running from counsel to counsel trying to hack through the jammed frequencies Divatox had put up. "Another minute or two and I'll have the system back up again."

****

"He can't be gone!" Cassie looked around for the boy they had been fighting so hard to save. "He was just here! I saw him!" 

"There was nothing I could do. I was out numbered and couldn't contact the others. I . . .I lost him it was me!" Kat said in a light voice that sounded like she was very seriously going to fall off the deep end at any moment. _NO! You will _not_ lose control Kat,_ she spoke to herself. _This isn't your fault. We'll get Tommy back and everything will be perfect. _Half convincing herself that everything was indeed all right, she proceeded to reassure the two teens that had come to her aid.

"We will get him back. I promise." She said. The girl tried to speak, but Kat cut her off. "There were just too many. Even _with_ The help of the other Rangers, we still would've been hard pressed to prevent the kidnapping." She forced herself to smile despite the fact that she knew the teens could not see her face. "I'm glad you were here to help me. You two really gave those Piranhatrons a run for their money." She was about to leave when she realized something. "Are two going to be alright? There isn't anything around here for miles." 

"We'll be fine, Pink Ranger. There's a gift shop not far away. We'll catch a ride into town. Don't worry about us. Just find that guy those creeps took." The boy spoke up. "By The way, I'm TJ and this is Cassie." He stuck out his hand and the Pink Ranger firmly shook it. 

"I wish I could say, nice to meet you, TJ. But under the circumstances, all I can say is a gracious thank you for all your help." Then she turned to Cassie. "The same goes for you too Cassie. I wish we could've met under better conditions but thank you." Stepping away from them she bowed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find my comrades." With that, she teleported away.

****

Kat arrived on the scene to see Jason flying through the air toward a tree. Acting quickly, she caught him in mid air. Had he actually hit the tree at the speed he was going, Jason would have been dead before he hit the ground. "Are you all right?" Kat asked.

"Yeah, I'll be alright." Jason said groggily as she helped him regain his equilibrium. A Piranhatron came at them. The two quickly dodged the attack and joined the fray.

****

_Rygog!_ Divatox yelled inside Rygog's head. _I have what I wanted. Return! _He gave a brief nod in acknowledgment. "See ya later, Rangers." Then Rygog and the Piranhatrons teleported back to the sub.

Once there, they discovered Divatox wasn't there. "Divatox?" Rygog said as he looked around the sub their missing commander. He found a Piranhatron that had not went with him. "Where did Divatox go?" The Piranhatron shrugged and walked on. "Dammit! I _hate_ being out of the loop!" He hurumphed and stalked off.

****

Inside one of the many caves located in the Angel Grove Mountains, Tommy lay unconscious on the rock floor. Four Piranhatrons and two Putrapod Warriors stood guard over him. On the opposite side of the cave Divatox yelled in an ear splitting tone. "Ma!" then in the sweetest voice she could muster said. "I'm ready." batting her eyelashes all the way. 

A few feet away, a black mist formed and Big Mamma D appeared. Putting her finger in her ear to clear it out, she spoke to her daughter. "Daughter, you didn't have to be so loud." She sized up her surroundings. "You sure know how to get the choice locations, Dear." Her eye fell on Tommy. "Yum! I don't know why you didn't pick him to be your mate. He looks like a Grade-A hunk to me!"

Diva rolled her eyes. "I thought about it Mom. But the fact is, he's just too dangerous. Look what happened to Rita, Zedd, and Mondo! Rita and Zedd have been reduced to blubbering idiots and Mondo's in the scrap heap!" Diva threw her hands up in the air. "I'm not going to end up like them." The determination in her voice was solid.

****

"I wonder what Diva's up to? That couldn't be it. It just couldn't be? Where's the big monster?" Tanya spoke as she de-morphed. Getting evil stares from her comrades she stared back at them. "I know, I'm just asking for trouble by saying that. But It's true. There's got to be more to this than it looks." Then it hit her. Someone was still missing. "Where's Tommy?" 

All eyes turned to Kat, who lowered her head, trying not to lose her composure. "Guys, Divatox' got Tommy." Everyone gasped, and then immediately asked what had happened.

"I don't mean to interrupt." David stepped up before Kat could tell her tale. "I want to find out what happened to my brother more than anything, but could we move to a safer place? Divatox could take advantage of the fact that you don't have a leader."

"David's right. Let's go to the Power Chamber." Jason suggested.

"I wonder why Dimitria hasn't contacted us yet?" Adam thought aloud. Shaking off his thoughts, "Come on, let's go." Adam grabbed Rocky's arm, Tanya grabbed David's and Justin grabbed Jason's, then they all teleported to the Power Chamber.

****

As soon as Kat's feet touched the floor of the Power Chamber, "Dimitria, where's Tommy?" behind her, the rest of the gang had teleported in. 

"I do not know Katherine." Dimitria replied, a bit saddened that she could not give a better answer. "Divatox has set up a jamming device in the mountains. We, " she gestured to Alpha. "have been unable to penetrate the jamming. I was afraid the interference would disrupt the teleportation systems. I am glad it has not." Turning her attention once again to Alpha. she asked, "Have you made any progress, Alpha?"

"Aye yai yai yai, Dimitria. At first glance it appeared to be a rather simple technique. But every time I got through one layer of data, I'd hit another." Alpha shook its head. "Whatever Divatox has planned, she _definitely_ wants to make sure she isn't interrupted.

"What happened?" David spoke up as he got Kat's attention.

Steeling herself, Kat told them what had happened. "When I left, the guy and girl were headed back toward some gift shop to find a ride back to wherever they were headed."

"Man! Why is it always Tommy?" Jason slammed his fist next to the display of the White Ranger uniform against the back wall of the main chamber. 

Justin looked around. _What did they mean, 'always'?  _He had thought of Tommy as the invincible older brother who was always there for you. He couldn't imagine him any different. "What do you mean? Has this happened before?"

Jason burst out in hysterical laughter. "Has this happened before? They go after Tommy like he's got some huge target on his back and a sign on his forehead saying 'TAKE ME!'" He was losing it and he knew it. He was itching to hurt something, anything, just to release the anger he felt for Divatox and all the others that had physically and mentally hurt his . . . friend.

"Maybe he does."

Everyone looked around to see Trey of Triforia walking out of the shadows from the opposite side of the large chamber.

"Trey!" Several of them shouted at once. 

"Greetings, Rangers." Trey spoke as he looked at the gathered group of teens. His eyes fell upon a face he did not recognize. "I assume you must be Justin Stewart, Rocky's successor to the Blue Power." He inclined his head slightly. "I wish I could say it is a pleasure to meet you. Given the circumstances of my visit, I cannot." His vision fell briefly upon Jason as he spoke. It was very uncomfortable being in the same room with him. Only months before, the young man had nearly given his life to protect the Power. Later, he had learned that he had did something similar for his friend Tommy, which brought him back to the reason for his visit. 

Stepping into the circle of Rangers and friends, Trey looked up at Dimitria. "Has Tommy begun to show the signs yet?" Dimitria shook her head. 

"What signs?" David asked. 

Instead of replying directly, Trey responded with a question of his own. "Where is Tommy?" 

Lowering her head before speaking, Kat answered. "Tommy's been captured by Divatox."

"She's set up some sort of jamming field to disrupt communications and it's also barring us from searching for him." Adam continued after noticing that Kat could not.

"Then I am too late." Trey looked sorrowful. "I came here to warn him. A Triforian ship on it's way to Nefesta Prime, intercepted a transmission to Divatox. The message contained the identity of Tommy's birth mother." He paused to draw in a breath, about to speak when the alarms suddenly went off. 

"Damn! Divatox isn't taking _any_ chances." Rocky exclaimed.

Everyone turned to the view screen to see what was up. They saw two giant monsters. One was attacking Stone Canyon, and the other the Angel Grove business district. "We've got to stop them. but how?" Rocky declared.

"Simple. We split up. Half of us go to Stone Canyon, and the other half to Angel Grove." Adam spoke up immediately taking control of the situation. He looked back at Rocky and Jason. "You think you're up to being on the active duty list again?" Jason and Rocky looked at each other and then at Adam and nodded in unison. "Great. We'll need all the help we can get." He looked at David. "How about you. Are you in?" 

"You bet." David replied.

Adam turned his attention back to his current mentor. "Dimitria, do you think we can use the Zeo Crystal to make Rocky, Jason, and David Rangers?"

"There should be no trouble returning Rocky's Powers to him. However, there is a risk that the Crystal _may_ not accept Jason and David. The risk is yours in this dire hour." Dimitria somewhat hesitant, but she knew the Rangers would do anything to protect the ones they loved. She sincerely hoped no adverse effects would befall David in taking the Power the risk was even greater for him than Jason. "Alpha activate the Zeo Crystal." Alpha nodded in acknowledgment stepping up to one of the many counsels center around the massive Chamber and punched a few buttons on the panel. Within a few seconds, the Zeo Crystal formed in the center of the chamber. David, Rocky, and Jason stepped up to the crystal. "Please place your hands upon the crystal."

The trio looked at each other slightly hesitant. Then with a nod, Jason spoke firmly. "Let's do this." The others gave a laconic nod and together, David and the two former Rangers touch the Zeo Crystal at the same time. A bright light flashed and they were instantly powered by the Crystal. 

David felt a powerful tingling sensation run through his entire body as it glowed an intense yellow. The tingling sensation increased until he felt every nerve of his body hyper-charged. _Whoa! So this is what it feels like to Morph! No wonder the others seemed so addicted to its Power! This feels awesome!_ "Amazing!" he said aloud. He looked down to see that he was dressed as the Yellow Zeo Ranger minus the skirt. _Why yellow?_ He thought distantly.

Rocky felt the familiar return of the Blue Crystal. _Man! I never thought I'd feel anything like this again after my accident. I can't wait to get back into action. _He shouted aloud. "Wah Hooo!!" performing a flawless back tuck in the process.

The Power entered Jason and at first he felt a searing sensation coursing through him as if part of himself were being burned away. He could almost see the last vestiges of the Gold Power being burned away. He had never told anyone but Tommy, that despite returning the Gold Powers back to Trey he was still dying. The process had been slowed down but not halted. He was afraid that trying to take another set of Powers would kill him. 

A second wave of energy blast through him and he cried out in pain. Although it felt just as intense as the first wave, the second brought with it the feeling of soothing liquid to quell the flames that burned him. This second energy glowed bright red. He had the feeling that if Alpha scanned him, it would discover that the deterioration caused by the Gold Power had been completely been reversed. For the most tiniest of moments he had a link with the previous bearer of these powers. He gasped for breath when he felt the pain of his missing friend. As suddenly as the connection was formed it disappeared back into the impenetrable mists of his mind. Before the connection completely vanished, he mentally cried out. _Tommy! Hold onto the eye of the storm!_ All of this passed inside of him within the space of a few moments. As he opened his eyes, Jason looked down to see that he was clothed in the uniform of the Red Zeo Ranger.

"Jason, are you OK?" Adam asked noticing the pained look on Jason's face when he touched the Crystal.

"I'm OK." Jason spoke calmly. The others eyed him curiously. "Really! I'm fine! Just a little shaken that's all." He tried to distill their concern.

"Alpha will you run a scan just to make sure?" Dimitria spoke. She sensed that the Gold energy had been excised from Jason but she wanted Alpha to make sure. "While you are at it, please see to it that Rocky and David are scanned as well."

"Sure thing, Dimitria." Alpha replied. It quickly scanned the three teens. All three scans revealed that the Crystal had successfully accepted them.

"OK, here's the split." As soon as Dimitria okayed them. Adam went right to the strategy without pause. "Kat, Justin, Tanya, and I will go to Stone Canyon with the Turbo Zords Jason, Rocky, David, and Trey; you go to Angel Grove with the Super Zeo Zords and Pyrimadas to take care of the monster there. Everybody got that?" He looked around the group. They all gave swift nods of understanding. "Alright then let's do this! It's Morphin time!"

****

Cassie and TJ were headed back to the bus stop. "You think the Rangers will be able to find that guy?" TJ asked after the uncomfortable silence that had pervaded between them since the Pink Ranger had left.

"I hope so. He wasn't looking too good when we found him." Cassie looked down, dejected. When she looked up, she saw a red flash of light emanate from a nearby cave. "Did you see that?"

nodding his head TJ replied. "Yeah, what do you suppose it is?"

Cassie just shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know either. Seeing the look that TJ had in his eyes she decided to put a stop to any action. "Oh no, no you don't."

TJ looked perplexed. "What do you mean?"

Cassie was more than happy to oblige. "We are _not_ going to check it out!" She shook her finger at him. "Look what happened the last time! We almost got killed!"

TJ was about to answer when he heard sounds coming from the cave they were currently discussing. He put his index finger to his lips. "Shhh" 

"Don't shush me! I..." TJ put his hand over Cassie's mouth to shut her up. 

"Listen." Cassie was furious, but stayed quiet. "Hear that? It sounds like voices." TJ moved his hand away, preparing to be slapped, punched, or kicked by Cassie, but she stayed unusually quiet. She too was listening to the sounds from the cave. It sounded as if someone was being tortured. "Come on. They might need our help." He spoke in hushed tones as he edged his way closer up a hill where the entrance to the cave was located.

"Can't we talk about this?" Cassie kept her voice quiet hoping that whoever or _what_ever was in that cave wouldn't over hear them. 

"You don't have to come along you know." TJ hissed.

She rolled her eyes in response. _Why on earth do I bother?_ "Let's go, OK?" With that, the duo went up the hill as stealthy as they could, approaching the cave at an angle.

****

The cave was dark and ominous. Baleful stalactites reached down from the ceiling; sinister stalagmites sprung up from the ground. The feel of doom pulsed out from the very walls. Flaming torches lit one of the many chambers. The light gave no comfort to an awakening prisoner. Even the light held the wickedness of those whom imprisoned him. Feeling pain in his arms, the prisoner looked up. He was not surprised to see his hands bound above his head. The rope that bound him had been wrapped securely around a stalactite. Looking down he discovered his feet also bound tight and the ropes secured to a boulder beneath him. Body stretched tight between the ceiling and the floor, his whereabouts uncertain, he began to panic. Pulling at his bindings only made them tighter. Breaths came in frantic spurts. _This is no time to hyperventilate! Calm yourself. Get a handle on the situation and then you can . . . _His thoughts were cut off when he heard a sound off to his right.

"Ah, I see the prisoner is awake." The voice was full of hatred and loathing. The prisoner shuddered slightly.

"What do you want Divatox?" The prisoner spat. The villainess only nodded her head to someone at his back. Before he could figure out what was going on, he felt the sting of a whip across his back. Every nerve in his body screamed. _Don't yell, Oliver. Don't do it. You can't let that . . . that WITCH win._ His body jerked as he received another lashing. Again and again the figure whipped him. The captive never said a word, never screamed. He didn't even moan in pain. He only sharply inhaled breaths crossed his lips. As a matter of fact, he bit down so hard on his lips, they actually bled. The prisoner glared defiantly at his captor, clearly saying without words. _You think you can break me? I've survived worse beatings than this without so much as a whimper. You will never break me._

The captor, Divatox, Pirate Scourge of the Seven Clusters, stared back at him with menace. "I will break you." She did not yell. She did not shout. For once, her voice was calm and even, and deadly. "Piranhatron!" She snapped loudly over her shoulder, never taking her eyes off of her precious prize. "Bring me the electrodes. I want to see how long it takes until he screams like a little child." She noticed with delight, her conquest had flinched when she mentioned the electrodes. _So you think you're so tough because you can take a whipping without crying out. But you _will_ not be so brave when I dump a few thousand volts into your system. _"You asked me what I wanted?" her voice was light and almost pleasant. 

The prisoner just glared back at her, knowing that to answer would mean another whipping. Divatox smiled. "You learn quickly." She walked closer to him, circling her way around him until she was able to reach out and touch him physically. As she ran her fingers along one side of his face, the prisoner tried to pull away. She grabbed his chin forcefully digging her fingernails into his skin, making sure she had his attention. "Believe me. You _will_ break." Her only response was a loogy in the eye, the unmasked eye. Resisting the temptation to strangle him dead right then and there, she wiped away the phlegm filled spit and spoke with extremely forced calm to the nearest Piranhatron. "Strip him." Before the man could offer any protest, his clothes, what was left of them at least, were ripped from him. 

Divatox walked around him, inspecting his form. She poked him a few times to test his reflexes. She sighed almost remorsefully. Almost. "If you weren't so dangerous to keep around, I'd make you my manservant." At last, she tore her eyes away from him. "Just think. This is only the beginning of it. I thought I'd give you a little taste of what is to become of you. Your days as a Ranger are _over!_" Turning around to see what reaction she received, ahe was extremely miffed to find he only glared at her steadfastly. "I was going to wait until my mother arrived before the next stage in your torture began, but I see you're bent on defying me." She pointed at a Piranhatron with a hose dripping a clear fluid. "Hose him down." With that the prisoner was hosed down with the liquid.

The man sputtered, trying to keep the liquid from his mouth. From the few involuntary swallows of it he took, he figured it was just plain old water. "What? Your gonna drown me with water from a hose?" he scoffed. He would have laughed if his entire body didn't ache so much. He'd survived ten years of abusive foster homes, nearly a month in Rita's dungeons, a week in Lord Zedd's clutches, not to mention what the Machine Empire had done to him; only to give up now. No, if Divatox thought a few sessions with a whip and some water were going to break him. She had another thing coming. 

Divatox answered simply. "No." Gesturing to another Piranhatron holding a bunch of bands connected to wires, she ordered it to place the bands on the young man's body. Seven bands total. One for his neck, one for both of his arms, one for his torso, one for his groin, and one for both of his legs.

Understanding reached through the young man's clouded mind. The water was to help the electricity travel better. An idea flashed through his mind. If he could somehow manage to lure Divatox closer she might step into the current with him. That idea was immediately dashed as he noticed that everyone was grounded. The villainess' clothes were just about completely rubber made. Looking at the Piranhatrons he noticed that they too were wearing protective gear to keep them from being electrocuted. _There goes _that_ plan._ He wasn't prepared for what happened next. 

Most people start out small when they torture you. They start out with the low setting just to see how you react and they work their way up from there. Slowly. It was a lot easier to build a resistance. Let the captors drag out the torture, and give your friends time to rescue you. That was the way it always went. Usually, the extra time allowed you to let your mind drift away so that you could disconnect your mind from the pain. Not this time. Pain beyond the most excruciating nightmares he had ever experienced in his entire being raged through his body. His screams were deafening to the ear, yet he could not hear them for the pain. Coherent thought went flying out the window the moment the switch flipped. In those moments all he knew was pain. Nothing existed before it, and nothing after it. White light seared his vision and gradually the light faded without an end to the pain. Just before he completely lost consciousness, it stopped. The raging fury burning through his body stopped, leaving only the remembered fire. His body twitched uncontrollably, and his throat was bloody and raw from his terrifying screams. 

He'd received shock treatment before. But this . . . this was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. He could usually retreat to a secret place in his mind. _In the eye of storm you'll see a lone falcon. The experience of survival is the key. _Over and over he would say this in his mind. He could picture a single white falcon soaring within the eye of a storm. Blocking out everything else around him, no tormentor could ever touch him. This time was different. His vision of the falcon burned away and the eye of the storm moved away from him. Electricity stormed through his body and he knew nothing else. When the pain had finally ended he wanted to weep right then and there. He had only to look into Divatox' eyes to regain his resolve. 

"You like?" Divatox walked close to him after the current was turned off. Still, she did not touch him. Looking into the young man's eyes, saw the words conveyed in them, even though he couldn't possibly speak them aloud. _You may break my body Divatox, but you will_ never_ break my spirit. _Grunting with frustrated anger. She screamed out loudly. "Mamma D!!!" 

**** 

**To be Continued...**


	2. Pushing the Limits

_**Part II. Special thanx: **I left out a few thanks in part one, so here's a belated thanks to Kathy Lord, Pam Marks and Starfire, who kept me going when the details got a little fuddled:) Thank YOU:) and The title of this thing is from the title song of Enigma's The Screen Behind the Mirror. If you can find anymore references from this album kudos to ya;)_

Part II: Push the Limits

On their way back to the gift shop, Cassie and TJ heard a pain filled scream emanating from a nearby cave. "Did you hear that?" Cassie asked. The sound filled her ears and made her want to cry for the being whose pain was voiced so loudly. _My God, what could make someone scream like that?_ She thought to herself. She looked at TJ for an answer, all he could do was nod.

The two stood there listening to the bloodcurdling scream as it continued without seeming to end. Snapping out of his shock TJ grabbed his new friend by the shoulder. "Come on, let's check it out. It might be that guy the Pink Ranger tried to rescue." He tried to sound brave but inside all he could do was shiver. Above all, he had no desire to find out what could make a man cry out like that, but his morbid sense of curiosity needed to be satisfied. 

Being dragged along toward the entrance to the cave, Cassie voiced what the practical part of her brain was telling her. "Maybe we should just head to the gift shop and find someway of contacting the police or the Rangers or something. I don't think we should go in there." Silently another voice popped into her mind. _Then why are you still allowing TJ to lead you into it?_ She had no answer other than hope that she could help whomever was in that cave.

As they entered the cave they noticed that the scream had stopped. It wasn't a sudden stop, no. It faded as if the being's strength had left with every second until it was too weak to voice such pain anymore. The duo huddled together closely, both at the ready to attack or flee at a moments notice. They could _feel_ the evil in the place. The stalactites and stalagmites formed gruesome figures of grotesque proportions. Adding to the uneasiness of the place scones were placed at odd intervals and created monstrous shadows on the cave walls. Cassie looked at TJ, whom in the dimness of light could barely see. In the most quiet whisper she could manage she spoke. "I don't like this place."

"I'd have to agree with you on that one." TJ agreed in a soft whisper. Just then they came around a bend and saw a large cavern. In the center of the ominous chamber, a man stood bound with his hands above his head stretching him high. His feet were also bound tightly stretching him low. "That's him!" he hissed. His friend quickly pulled him back behind the bend. He looked back at her an obvious question on his face. She pointed up to a spot that was well out of view from those in the large chamber but they could get an uninterrupted view without having to worry too much about being caught.

Getting into place, they tried to hear what was going on, but the overlapping echoes was making it hard to understand what was being said. From this angle they could see that there were several of those things that had attacked them earlier along and a woman with a mask and a cape. It appeared that this woman was the leader. "What's she doing?" Cassie asked, mindful to keep her voice as quiet as possible. 

There was a bright flash of light and another woman appeared. She looked older and it sounded as if she had called the first woman her daughter. The duo looked at each other and then to the scene that played before them, straining to hear what was being said.

****

"Mama D!" Divatox yelled. 

A moment later a bright flash of light appeared and took the form of Mama D. "Daughter, must you yell so loudly?" The woman spoke as she tried to clear her ringing ears.

"Sorry mom. I forgot how well sound travels in these caves." She said mock sheepishly, momentarily forgetting her prey.

Looking at the young prisoner, Mama D looked him over with raised eyebrows. "New pet?"

Diva turned to the semiconscious Tommy. "Oh him? This is what is left of the once proud leader of the Rangers." So saying, she pulled out his Morpher. The device had been stripped from him when the evil villainess had him bound. "Remember this?" She held it up for him to see. He gazed at it with blank eyes. Slightly miffed that she could get no greater response from him she threw it into the ground and smashed it with her heel. "Where is your hope now?" she mocked. Still she got no response, just a blank emotionless gaze. Disgusted she turned back to her mother. "See Mamma? He won't do anything anymore. I think that last torture took too much out of him. I really wanted you to see how active he was. He screamed quite well when I gave him shock treatment."

****

Tommy wanted nothing more than to curl up into a tiny ball and weep in some dark corner. Unfortunately he was bound hand and foot partially suspended in a brightly lit, though ominous cave. Weeping was also out of the question. He'd die before he'd give into Divatox. 

The first few moments after the electrocution were very hard for him. He barely knew who he was or how to control his body. But years of martial training and a strength and resolve hidden deep within him brought back his senses. He couldn't completely comprehend what was going on. All he knew was that an ugly woman was standing in front of him, taunting him, trying to get him to show some type of emotion. She flashed something in front of him, a device of some sort. It looked vaguely familiar and supposedly this woman thought it must anger him to see it. She was wrong, and so she smashed it under her heel. Again she looked for a reaction, and again, she received none. However when she smashed the device, a few sparks of energy were released. He felt a sudden loss of power, but at the same time he felt rejuvenated. The fog in his mind cleared he could once again understand what was going on. He immediately regretted it. How wonderful it was to be ignorant. It was easier to frustrate your captors if you had no clue what they were talking about. 

"Obviously there's nothing I can do that will break you." Divatox spoke in his ear very seductively. In the distance a ways, he could see another woman standing there. He couldn't remember when she appeared, but it seemed like she was making a circle in the sand around him. "Me and Mamma D have a surprise for you." She paused just long enough to raise his curiosity before stepping back. "We're gonna throw you into the Vortex of Eternal Doom and Sorrow, where you'll suffer a long long time." She cackled. 

It took every ounce of control he had not to cringe at her glass shattering mouth. _Guys! Where are you? I need you! I don't now how much longer I can hold out against this witch and her mother. _He called out silently never expecting an answer.

_Tommy! Hold onto the eye of the storm!_ A mysterious voice spoke to him from within.

Confused, he asked. _Who are you?_ He received no answer. _Must be losin' it Oliver! Get a hold of yourself!_ He decided that he should probably start paying attention to Divatox' prattle.

"My mother would like to see you scream. I told her it would be no where near as powerful as the first time, but she insists. What do you think?" Divatox spoke baiting him. 

Tommy couldn't answer her even if he wanted to. His throat burned so horribly from the last "treatment" he received that it hurt to breath little lone speak. The best he could do was glare back at her. He had already begun to send his mind away from the pain in his body when the first torrents of water hit him. The storm raged around him, but he was at peace. He had found the eye and held his place within the maelstrom that surrounded him. Therefore, when the heavy jolts of electricity once again poured into his body, his mind felt nothing. His body however, was very much experiencing every watt of electricity being pelted at and through him.

****

Mamma D watched in pure delight as she watched the spectacle before her. From what her daughter had told her of the first electric torture the boy had went through, she seriously doubted the boy would do anymore than flop around a few times. She was quite surprised to see that despite a clearly bloody throat he still managed to vocally scream very well for at least a full minute and a half before his voice left him again, and the spasms from the currents of electricity burning through him were absolutely wild! His convulsions appeared as if he'd been turned into a human firecracker. But after another minute or so she saw that his eyes had rolled to the back of his head and a slight foaming of the mouth. "Daughter, I think that is enough. I don't think we want him to experience the vortex dead now do we?" She smiled. This was truly a great day to be evil.

Divatox visibly sighed almost dejected. She waved the Piranhatron at the controls for the electrical machine to cut the current. As soon as soon as the spasms decreased enough to approach her prisoner, she had another soldier check his vitals. Good she thought when it gave her its results. The prisoner was unconscious but still alive. She was extremely pleased with herself. "OK then. Let's get to it." Her smile just couldn't get any bigger. "Let's begin the spell!"

****

When the second bout with the electricity ran through the prisoner's body. Cassie and TJ shut their eyes tightly when they heard the man held captive in the center of the chamber's agonizing scream. Both of them could only sympathize with his pain. Soon the voice faded away again, and the duo opened their eyes to see the young man's body was still thrashing about in obvious pain. TJ began to rise from his crouched position in the small alcove they were hidden in. Cassie quickly grabbed him and pulled him back down. "Are you crazy?!" she hissed at him. "They could very easily to the same thing to us!"

"I can't just sit here and let them torture that guy to death!" TJ shot back angrily but quietly.

"I feel the same way! But look what rushing into a fight got us the last time?" Cassie pleaded for TJ to understand. "Those _things_ captured that guy over there and now they're torturing him to death! There's too many of them TJ! We have to wait. An opening will happen. We just have to have faith that everything will work out. We just _have_ to!" her voice rose slightly but she caught herself before they could be discovered.

****

Kat, Justin, Tanya, and Adam were having a hard time defeating Divatox's latest monster Torquatron. They managed to call Tommy's Zord with a remote that Alpha had quickly rigged enabling them to form the Turbo Mega Zord. The monster kept deflecting every shot they sent at it. Most of the time the deadly fire bounced off a twenty-foot shield the monster carried sending the energy careening into nearby buildings. _This is _not_ good!_ Adam thought to himself. He quickly reanalyzed the situation. _Brute force is not the winner of battles. _Adam smiled inwardly to himself as an idea struck him. "This isn't working. We need to separate the Zords. He's wide open when he deflects the shots. If one of us could sneak in while he's deflecting shots at the other three, we might be able to cripple him enough to take out his 'reflective personality'." Adam was definitely beginning to sound like a leader of the Power Rangers, bad puns and all. Kat, Tanya and Justin groaned collectively.

"Let me guess. You're the one who's going to sneak in for the surprise attack." Kat was clearly ready to put up a standard argument on why he should not be the one to do it, when he surprised her by saying:

"Actually, I was thinking about Justin when I thought up the plan." 

Everyone blinked at him. "Me?!" Justin didn't believe he'd heard correctly. Before Adam could reply Torquatron had delivered a viscous kick from the side to the MegaZord's torso region. The Zord tumbled to the ground, dazing everyone for a few seconds. Justin ran his fingers over his control panel assessing the damage. "Rerouting power couplings." After a few tense moments, Tanya was able to right the Zord back to a standing position. "Alright, we're at 80% max power. Are you sure you want to do this Adam?" Justin didn't want to doubt Adam's judgment, but he couldn't help it.

"I'm sure, Justin. Torquatron will probably figure you as the weakest link, but I know you're not. I have faith in you, Justin. We all do." Adam affirmed and the others nodded in agreement. Justin looked around uncertainly at them. He couldn't see their faces but the emotions were still there. " . . .Tommy believes in you." And that clenched it. Adam knew what he spoke was true and so did Justin.

Immediately the four Rangers separated their Zords. Tommy's empty Zord went back to the hangerbay near the Power Chamber.

****

Justin sat in his Zord with a look of pure determination on his face. _I know I can do this. The others have put their faith in me. If I fail, it will mean that everybody in the city will die. _Justin thought quietly to himself, pointedly ignoring the fact that if he failed his friends including himself would most likely be the first to meet their tragic ends. The others distracted Torquatron while he slipped up behind him. They were careful not to use anything but flares, lest more innocent lives were lost. _I can't do this!!!!_ Justin screamed mentally. He had come up right behind the big creepazoid. The monster didn't seem to notice him at all. 

He was about to chicken out when he saw a brilliant red flash of light dance across the sky above the mountains. Everyone stopped. The air seemed charged with an energy that had not been there previously. Justin felt as if he'd Morphed for the very first time. It was amazing and yet sad. He didn't know why the feeling of sadness would touch him so powerfully. It felt as if someone had made a great sacrifice and if he didn't do his part right now that sacrifice would have been wasted. So there he was, his Zord positioned directly behind Torquatron he'd already had his computer analyze the monster's weak point. All he had to do was shoot for dumb ol' creepazoid's hand holding on to the shield, then they could combine their fire and take'm down. 

_I have faith in you, Justin. We all do. . . .Tommy believes in you. _The words echoed back into his mind. _They all have faith in me. Why can't _I_ have faith in me?_ Justin asked himself. His hand hovered over the trigger. _Wait for it. The moment isn't right. _He thought to himself. _The moment _is _right! Go for it. This is your chance! Torquatron is distracted. Your target is locked into place. You can't fail! All you have to do is push a button! DO IT!!!_ a second voice yelled at him. Justin agreed with the second voice. Shutting his eyes and offering a silent prayer, he pushed the button. 

****

All things told, everything was going quite well. The Rangers were actually _helping_ him destroy the city. Torquatron was delighted to see that these young children posing as Power Rangers were such nincompoops. All too soon, however, he became bored and the Rangers were putting up a very pitiful resistance to his attacks. "You Rangers are such fools!" He said. "Do you really think you can defeat me with that pitiful Zord of yours?" Much to his surprise the Rangers split their ultimate battle machine into its separate components. Before he got a chance to question the little brats' sanity, a brilliant flash of red light exploded across the sky. It's power amazing and also blinding. So distracted was he by the light that he was completely unaware that one of the Zords had slipped behind him. 

The last moment Torquatron ever experienced, was that of the Brilliant Red Power, then total darkness.

****

"Justin, you did it!" Adam yelled triumphantly over the comm channel. "I knew you could do it." Despite the satisfaction of the end of this battle, All Adam had to do was look around him and know that the price they paid for survival might have been very high. Many lives were lost this day. He couldn't help the eerie feeling that crept over him. It was a feeling of great foreboding. As he looked toward the direction of the mountains one more time, he could see the gently fading red that had covered the sky so powerfully only moments before. _Tommy you can't die on us now! _He silently pleaded. His instincts as a leader however, prevented him from expressing it on his face. Humph. A leader. What did he know about being a leader? Tommy was a leader. Jason was a leader. Adam? No, he was no leader. He didn't want nor did he need _that_ particular responsibility.

"Adam?" It was Kat's voice coming through the commstat 

He already knew the question she was about to ask. "I know Kat, I know. I just pray that Tommy's alright." 

Switching channels quickly he contacted the others in Angel Grove. "Jase how are things holding up on your end?" 

After a few moments of static, Jason's voice came through in quick hurried breaths. "We're getting our butts handed to us! How about you?" 

"We just defeated Torquatron. We're headed your way now. We should be there in about two or three minutes." Adam shouted back at his commstat.

"Thanks, man!" There was a slight pause from Jason. "Adam? Did you see. . . ." Adam could tell that Jason didn't want to finish his sentence knowing that hope for their friend's safe return was all but washed away.

"Yea, I saw it Jase." Adam replied. "Look, Kat, Tanya, Justin, and I are on our way. After we defeat this last monster, we'll start looking for Tommy. Hopefully it's not too late."

****

It was the moment of victory for Divatox. After nearly six months, the thorn in her side known as the Tommy Oliver would cease to be a problem for her. A circle of Vesturian salt had been drawn around the boy to contain the width of the vortex. It wouldn't do for the vortex to suck _everything_ into its dismal despair. The only thing left was to say the words that would spell the end for the little Power Puke. She felt it necessary to taunt him further. It was just too good a chance to pass up. One last taunt to wish him good-bye. "No last words?" Tommy only stared at her, consciousness just recently returning. "No? That's too bad. I was going to let you go if you begged me loud enough." From some unknown depth of reserve, that she could not fathom, a huge wad of spit and phlegm mixed with blood landed smack in the middle of her face. 

Mamma D laughed. "The little thing still has some fight in him!" 

Divatox spun around and looked like she was about to spout some major pout when, a Piranhatron walked up to her and whispered something in her ear. "It looks like the Rangers are giving my monsters more trouble than I thought. I need to get back to my ship and oversee the battle personally. Let's hurry up and get this party started!"

Divatox' mother shook her head slightly mumbling under her breath. "Kids these days. No patience at all!" she did a final walk around the circle to make sure it was unbroken and then began to chant.

The Pirate watched giddily as the circle started to glow. Its luminance continued to increase rising as a cylindrical column in the air completely surrounded her captive. Bright colors of red and white tinged with green swam around the wall of light until it settled down in a pool-like whirl on the floor. The ground surrounding the newly formed whirlpool jutted upward three feet creating a small lip around the vortex. Tommy's bound feet now hung mid air just inches above the swirling mass. The boulder that was attached to his feet was nowhere in sight. It was lost in the vortex below.

From the corner of her eye, Divatox noticed her mother stumble a bit. "You four!" She pointed to the four nearest Piranhatrons. "Guard the prisoner while I take my mother back to my ship." Then Diva and her mother disappeared.

****

"Guard the prisoner while I take my mother back to my ship."

Cassie and TJ looked at each other and hissed simultaneously to each other. "This is it!" They waited several moments after Divatox and her mother had gone before they decided to move. 

"Let's go!" Cassie grabbed TJ by the the collar and they crept out of their hiding place and made their way down to the main floor.

Once the pair made it down to the main floor, they crept behind a large stalagmite. TJ stuck his head out from the rock to take a quick peak then ducked back down. "OK there's six of them in there all together. Two are standing right next to the guy that the Pink Ranger had tried to save. Three are over on the far side of the cave near some strange device. One is about ten feet right in front of us, and the other two are near the entrance." he paused for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to have a knife good enough to cut that rope, do you?" 

Cassie looked at him exasperated. "NO!" she hissed as loud as she dared. "How the hell are we going to get him down?" TJ shrugged, not knowing what else to say. Suddenly Cassie jumped up surprising both TJ and the Piranhatron nearby. "Hey, I think I've got what you want right here." She spoke seductively. She quickly dashed behind the rock again when the Piranhatron gave chase. As soon as the foot soldier was out of site of the others, Cassie and TJ pounced on him. They quickly incapacitated it stealing the weapon in its possession in the process.

"Alright, miss 'we need a plan'" TJ spoke sarcastically. 

"I had a plan, it came so suddenly I didn't have enough time to fill you in on all the details." She smiled. "Now we only have to worry about five of these things and try to figure out how to get our friend over there out of here."

"How..." TJ was about to continue when two Piranhatrons charged them. "Shit!" TJ grabbed the blaster they'd just stolen and fired blindly hoping to give them enough time to get away. They quickly hurled themselves out of immediate danger. TJ managed to knock out another Piranhatron and Cassie picked up its blaster. They both fired almost blindly while trying to find cover in another part of the cavern. 

The duo somehow managed to get themselves trapped in the main cavern with no cover. Cassie barely managed to duck a blast at her head. "We've got to do something!"

"Yeah! Stay alive!" TJ shot back. _OK, Einstein. We've got to get the attention off of us. Think fast._ He thought to himself. Then he spotted the strange equipment that he saw earlier. He aimed his blaster at it and fired. The machine exploded taking out two more Piranhatrons. _Four down, two to go. _"Alright! there's only two left. Let's split up and draw their . . ." He had to duck and roll to avoid being hit."Fire." He finished. Cassie nodded and headed back toward their second hiding place, while he edged his way toward the prisoner. 

Upon seeing his condition, TJ inwardly winced. The captive's face was a swollen and bloody mess, and the rest of his naked form was in much the same condition. Even though the young man was still unconscious, his body still twitched uncontrollably. TJ shook his head in sympathy. As a last ditch effort, he decided to rush the Piranhatron after him. The drone was momentarily startled by this bold move and thereby hesitating just long enough for TJ to get in under his guard. The Piranhatron managed to fire but TJ succeeded in deflecting the shot. He quickly disarmed it and took it out. He glanced over his shoulder in the direction that Cassie had gone and saw that she too had taken care of Piranhatron after her.

TJ turned his attention back to the young man they'd come to rescue. He heard a ripping sound and looked up to see the rope keeping the guy from falling into the vortex below. "Oh No!" Even as he exclaimed, the roped frayed quickly and he dashed forward to save the young man. Just before he reached him, the rope snapped and the young man plummeted toward the vortex. "NO!" TJ screamed and just barely managed to grab the end of the rope as the young man disappeared into the bright swirls of the vortex. Quickly wrapping the rope around his hand before the slack disappeared, TJ was unprepared for the sudden jerk that nearly sent him into the pit as well when the rope at last went taunt. Cassie grabbed on to his waist, preventing him from going over.

A few seconds after a bright red energy erupted from the vortex. It was so powerful, that Cassie and TJ were nearly wrenched away from the pit that contained the vortex. It's power was so great that it knocked a hole in the ceiling of the cavern clear to the sky above. They both screamed in pain as they fought to hang on to the rope. The blazing energy was so intense that they had to shut their eyes tightly, and still it was too bright. After what seemed like an eternity, the color changed to a less intense white but still the power was nearly all consuming. As the power continued to fade it changed to green and began to sputter out. The cave was almost pitch black except for the faint light emanating from the now calm vortex. 

Amazingly the rope held, and the two continued to hold on to it for dear life. Without warning, the duo were thrown back a bit from a sudden lack of weight. For a moment they thought that the rope had snapped, yet they could still fill weight on the rope. Quickly they began to pull on the rope. Their hope rose when they saw a pair of hands bound to the rope. They continued to pull and then they saw a head and a neck and yes he was all there! Cassie and TJ pulled him over the edge. In the faint light TJ checked to see if the teen was still alive. He sighed with relief when he found a faint yet steady pulse. "We don't have time!" Cassie yelled at him. "That lady is going to be back and she's going to be mighty pissed off when she sees that we've ruined her plans. We have to get out of here!" 

"We need a torch or something or else we'll get lost." TJ said absently as he searched around for a torch. Finding one on not too far a way that was still lit, he went back and helped Cassie carry the young man out of the cave. With TJ on one side holding the torch and Cassie on the other side of the former captive they made their way out of the cave and into the waning light of day.

****

Trey, Rocky, Jason, and David arrived in downtown Angel Grove to absolute pandemonium. Flamite was terrorizing the people on the street by setting their cars on fire. Many citizens were trapped in burning cars. The monster had even gone as far as setting some directly on fire. "Damnit! Doesn't this creep know when enough is enough?" Jason spoke as the quartet tried to rescue the burning people. 

For every person they saved, three more were torched by Flamite's flame thrower. "This strategy is proving most ineffective" Trey grunted while knocking out the back window of a burning car to get at the trapped people inside.

"You're right," Jason shouted back after rescuing a child from the same car moments before it exploded. He thought quickly. "Rocky, you and Trey distract Flamite while David and I try and get these people out of here."

"Sure thing, boss." Rocky saluted before he and Trey dashed off.

"Stay frosty!" Jason yelled back. He turned to David. "Come on. We have to find a way to get these people out of here." Surveying the destruction around him he cried out. "Where the hell is the fire department?!" He was mildly surprised when the little girl he'd just rescued answered him.

"Ranger sir, we heard on the radio that that monster guy set fire to Mercy Hospital a few blocks away. All the fire trucks in the county are trying to keep it under control. The radio also said something about Stone Canyon but we didn't get to hear what was said cuz that's when that monster set fire to my mom's car." The little girl said in a rush. "Where's my mommy?" She asked when she looked around and didn't see her. 

Even though Jason knew the little girl couldn't see his face, he averted his eyes and looked away. When he'd crawled into the vehicle via the back window that Trey had broken, he saw a woman behind the steering wheel first, he checked his visor for her vitals and they came back negative. He had been about to crawl back out when he spotted the little girl curled up on the floor of the passenger's side. She was still conscious and quickly grabbed her and passed her on to Trey before the car exploded. How did he tell this girl that her mother was dead?

"She didn't make it did she?" the little girl asked trying to be brave and not cry. She only half succeeded.

Jason looked at down at her with a heavy heart. "I'm so sorry." He was about to say more when David spoke up.

"Boss, I think I see a tour bus we can get all these people in." David said softly. 

Jason turned to him and nodded then turned back to the little girl. "Can you do me a favor?" he asked. She nodded wordlessly. "You see that bus over there?" He pointed to the tour bus parked on the side of the street. It was one of the few remaining vehicles still unscorched by Flamite's rampage. "I want you to get on that bus and help as many people get on as you can on your way there OK?"

"You can count on me Mr. Ranger." She said enthusiastically and ran off to the bus. 

David and Jason found as many people as they could and quickly got them to the bus. "Is there anyone here who can drive this bus?" David asked the crowd. 

A teen who looked to be just a few years younger himself dressed in a pink outfit stood up. "I can do it."

David waved her over, while Jason helped more people onto the bus. "OK, what's your name?" He asked when she got up to the driver's seat. 

"My name's Ashley Hammond." 

"OK Ashley, I need you to get these people to St. Vincent's Hospital on the other side of town. Can you get there without heading back into the center of town?" 

Ashley nodded. "Not a problem." 

David thanked her before grabbing Jason and stepped off the bus. They checked a few more cars and some of the buildings that had caught fire to make sure there were no stragglers. The ground suddenly shook beneath them as the comm units in their heads went off. "Jason! Flamite's just gone building size. Help, would be nice!" Rocky's excited voice came through.

"Alright, we're on our way." Jason answered back. He looked at David and he nodded. They called upon SuperZeo Zords 2 and 5 and quickly joined Rocky and Trey in the battle against the enlarged Flamite.

****

Trey and Rocky went about trying to distract Flamite from causing more damage. "This guy was a lot easier to fight when no one else was around to get hurt." Rocky said after he used a trash can he found on the street to deflect a direct blast from the monster in question. The flame consumed it almost instantaneously making him drop it before it burned his gloved hand.

"You've met this creature before?" Trey inquired, while dodging said monster's flame.

"The _real _Power Ranger's didn't wanna come out and face me? They had to send in the substitutes?" Flamite taunted. 

"Oh we're the real thing alright 'Little Flame that Couldn't!'" Rocky shouted. 

Trey and Rocky continued to distract Flamite, while David and Jason got the civilians to safety. "If only we had some sort of freezing device." Trey said aloud.

"Well why didn't you say so?" Rocky said stopping in his tracks.

"I did say so." Trey replied not realizing that Rocky was being sarcastic.

"Hey Alpha?" Rocky spoke into the comm located in his helmet.

'Yes Rocky' Alpha responded.

"Do we still have that freeze gun that Billy designed awhile back?" Rocky asked.

'I believe we do. I'll will teleport it to you momentarily." Alpha replied, cutting off the link. 

A minute later, Alpha teleported the freeze gun to Trey and Rocky. It looked like a slightly modified blaster, which it was. "Alright halitosis mouth! Here's a tic tac!" Rocky yelled as he fired the gun at at Flamite. The monster chose that moment however, to grow to city stomping heights.

Craning his neck to see the top of the monster Trey uttered calmly. "I think we need a bigger gun."

"Ha ha funny." Rocky said sardonically. 

"Maybe we should . . . what do you Earthers say? Call in the Calvary?" Trey spoke as he dodged being a pancake in the street by an inch from the flaming foot of Flamite.

"I think you may be right." Rocky made the call. "Jason! Flamite's just gone building size. Help, would be nice!"

"Alright we're on our way." Jason's voice come through the commlink.

A few moments later, Jason and David arrived in their Zords. Rocky and Trey had already called in theirs, trying to fend off the flaming monster until the others arrived. 

Their combined efforts were still no match for Flamite. The best they could do was keep Flamite from completely burning down the city. There were two shelters nearby and Flamite had come close several times to annihilating them.

All fighting stopped as a bright red light filled the sky above the mountains in the distance. Jason felt a sudden emptiness inside. _No! It can't be. _He realized that Tommy had been where that emptiness. Ever since Tommy gave him the Green Power Coin that fateful day when Rita used the Green Candle to try and steal the Power back, he and Tommy had been psychically connected. It was a tenuous bond, but every once and awhile they would be able to call to each other and the other would answer. Jason felt his focus slipping. He couldn't concentrate, he couldn't take advantage of the situation. He just sat there transfixed by the light in the distance.

"That isn't what I think it is?" Trey and Rocky both said through the commlink at the same time.

Jason pushed the button to reply when his Zord was knocked flat by a flame burst from Flamite. His vision swam in and out of focus. _Get focused Jason! One thing at a time. First, Defeat the monster, then we can worry about Tommy._ Jason thought to himself. He checked his energy readings and rerouted them to the essential areas. His comm unit went off. It was Adam. "Jase how are things holding up on your end?" 

Jason spoke in quick hurried breaths while he struggled to right his Zord. "We're getting our butts handed to us! How about you?"

"We just defeated Torquatron. We're headed your way now. We should be there in about two or three minutes." Adam shouted.

"Thanks, man!" Jason replied. He paused a moment. He didn't really want to voice his concern. "Adam? Did you see. . . ." He was unable to finish the sentence. 

"Yea, I saw it Jase." Adam replied. "Look, Kat, Tanya, Justin, and I are on our way. After we defeat this last monster, we'll start looking for Tommy. Hopefully it's not too late."

****

Divatox sat in her sub fuming over that events of the past few hours. The Rangers had managed to do it again. They had foiled her perfect plan. Not only had they managed to rescue two cities, they also managed to rescue their leader before he the Vortex of Eternal Doom and Sorrow swallowed him whole. She turned to her mother who was resting on a nearby chair on the bridge of the sub. "And what do you have to say for yourself, mother?"

Mamma D raised her eyebrow in disdain. "You act as if we lost daughter." 

The pirate looked at her mother incredulously, "And you think we didn't?" her voice rose to screeching proportions. "Hello! Torquatron is ashes, Flamite might as well be, and they snatched their leader back right from under our noses! How can you say that we didn't lose?!"

Divatox' mother waited calmly until her over zealous daughter was finished ranting. "They may have rescued his body but they'll find out soon enough, that is all they have rescued."

Divatox looked questioningly at her mother. "What do you mean?" 

Mamma D answered with an enigmatic smile. "You'll see." 

****

Adam, Kat, Tanya, and Justin were greeted to the site of a burning Angel Grove. "Dear God," someone gasped. No one could say for sure who said it, but it was something that they all felt. The visage before them showed the Zeos taking turns fighting Flamite one on one in their Zords while the others desperately tried to contain the fires raging around them. 

Adam was the first to recover from his shock. He opened a channel to Jason's Zord. "Jase! We're I've got you on visual. We're just south-southwest of your position and closing in." He shook his head, "Man this looks bad."

Jason's comm was dead for a few minutes. "Welcome to Hell's Kitchen. It looks better than it feels." 

Adam replied over the comm. "Jase this isn't the time for joking around."

"I don't believe he was joking, Adam." Trey inserted. "From the descriptions I have heard about your people's version of hell. I believe Jason was not exaggerating. Agghhh!" At that moment Adam saw Trey take a bad hit from Flamite. 

"Trey are you alright?!" Adam couldn't believe that this was happening. His whole world was crashing, literally, down around him. "Trey! Can you hear me?" There was no response..

"Trey!" The others chimed in immensely concerned that their new found friend did not answer. 

A heart-stopping moment later, a very shaken Trey answered over his comm. "I am all right. Just a little shaken. There _has_ to be a better way to fight this thing."

Suddenly Tanya came up with an idea. "Hey Adam! Remember that game we were playing a few weeks ago, on your computer?"

"Tanya this isn't the time to get nostalgic." Adam said trying to sound as nice as he could. He was fighting to stay in control of his emotions that were threatening to run wild. He had to keep it together for the team's sake. _Now I understand what Tommy and Jason were talking about when they said that it's a lot easier to follow than lead because everyone else expects you to stay calm even though you want to break down right with them. _

"No, I'm serious. Remember those flame thrower guys were very effective against tanks and single marines but a group of marines and tanks could take them out really quick. Maybe if we all spread out and concentrated our weapons on Flamite we could take him out. He can only concentrate his flame throwers on two of us at the most."

Adam's face lit up. "That's a great plan Tanya! If we rotate positions we should be able to minimize damage." He opened his comm channel to everyone. "Alright guys, we're following Tanya's plan. Everybody fan out and center on Flamite. If you get too damaged, rotate around so that you aren't too seriously damaged by Flamite's fire." He cut the connection and silently prayed. _God, I hope this works._

"What do you little brats think you're doing?" Flamite asked, obviously very agitated.

"Just getting rid of the trash." Adam said smugly. "FIRE!" The SuperZeo and TurboZords aligned themselves in a semicircle around Flamite and opened fire simultaneously. 

Try as he might, Flamite was unable to get a fix on a single Zord. Every time he picked one out, another took its place to cover for it. "This can't be happ--" Flamite never got to finish his statement, for he disintegrate into flaming ashes.

The Rangers then aided the fire department in containing the more hazardous fires. The sun was two hours set before they managed to make it back to the Power Chamber.

****

Dimitria felt a great surge of power emanating from the nearby mountains. The scanners identified the Power as Red Turbo Power but that was all they were useful for. Whatever devices Divatox had in place to keep Dimitria and the Rangers from finding the Red Ranger were very strong. "Alpha, are you able to isolate the signal?"

"Ai yai yai Dimitria, I cannot!" Alpha ran it's mechanical fingers across several counsels. 

"Please keep trying Alpha, I fear time is running out." Dimitria hung her head and silently prayed for the safe return of her Ranger.

After endless searching, Alpha finally managed to get a lock. "Dimitria! The computer has a lock on Tommy's DNA." 

"Are you able to teleport him, Alpha?" Dimitria inquired extremely concerned.

"Attempting now." Alpha's mechanical hands flew across the teleportation counsel. 

****

Cassie, TJ, and Tommy emerged from the cave and into the waning light of day. And were immediately greeting with a group of approximately twenty Piranhatrons. They tried turning around but they could hear the footsteps of more coming from inside the cave. "Great, from the frying pan into the fire." TJ sardonically as he and Cassie went on the defensive.

The Piranhatrons were about to make their move when suddenly a light flashed in-between the pair. Tommy was being teleported away, or rather it seemed that way. When a red teleportation beam came to collect the young teen, he suddenly screamed out as his body began to disappear into the bright light. Cassie and TJ were so shocked that they let go of him. The beam appeared to change to a slightly lighter shade of red then to white and flashed green before it finally disappeared. Only, Tommy was still there, crumpled on the ground, sweating profusely small tremors reverberating across his frame.

****

"Ai yai yai, Dimitria! The computer doesn't recognize Tommy's energy signature! It's sending the computer into a continuous feedback loop. I can't teleport him!

"Are you able to put an image of him on the viewscreen?" Dimitria questioned. 

"Yes, I believe so." Alpha said as it quickly placed an image of TJ, Cassie and Tommy on the view screen. 

Without hesitation, Dimitria commanded. "Lower the shielding and teleport Tommy and his two companions here immediately."

"But we don't know what Divatox has done to him." Alpha replied. 

"Please teleport him directly to the infirmary and his two rescuers in the main chamber. Time is of the essence we haven't a moment to lose." Dimitria commanded. 

"Lowering shields now." Alpha spoke as it went about its tasks as quickly as it could. "Shields are down, attempting to teleport now." A few moments later, the familiar hum of the teleportation beams filled the air. Double beams of white formed within the main chamber and coalesced into the two distinct beings of Cassie and TJ.

****

"What just happened?!" Cassie exclaimed after seeing Tommy nearly teleported away. She didn't have a chance to have her question answered, however, the shock of the moment had worn off the Piranhatrons and they began advancing on the trio of teens.

They were grossly out numbered. TJ knew the deck was stacked against him, but he'd be damned if he didn't go down without a fight. He saw the look in Cassie's eyes and saw the same determination in her as well. The first group of Piranhatrons advanced on them and suddenly TJ felt a strange sensation and found himself enveloped in a white light. 

When his vision cleared he found Cassie and himself in a large room that looked right out of Star Trek. 

"Where's that guy?" Cassie asked when she noticed that the young teen was not with them.

"He is safe, as are you." a  feminine voice echoed in the large chamber. "Welcome to the Power Chamber, home of the Power Rangers." 

********

**To be continued...**


	3. Gravity of Love

_**Part III. Special thanx:** I would like to thank everyone who kept on me about this fic. It's seen a lot of different tracks since last year and I'd especially like to thank Pam Marks again, Kalinara, and Twig for putting up with my constant ramblings on why Tommy was stuck in the fucking room. (Excuse my language I had hit a very hard wall that I haven't officially written through completely yet. If people are still interested in this story I'll continue on, if not? I'll keep what happens in the end between a select few people who actually know what's going on :P) Oh and one more thing. I started writing a prequel to this, it's called Prism of Life. Hopefully it'll explain some of the drama and add a bit (coughs) of foreshadow into what happens in the denouement of this story. If you want a snack peak at what I'm up to, check out my blog:)_

Part III: Gravity of Love 

Cassie and TJ looked around in wonder. "The Power Rangers?" TJ asked when his eyes finally settled on the woman who had apparently spoken. To TJ, she looked like a genie in a bottle. The large tube she floated in gave off the majority of the light in the vast chamber. As his mind wandered in wonderment, eight multicolored columns of light streaked into the chamber. He and Cassie both had to shield their eyes to the bright light. When it was gone, eight teens stood before him. They didn't seem to notice them, they quickly ran to the various counsels and control panels situated around the chamber. 

"Dimitria, Did you see that bright light coming from the mountains? I think that maybe." A young man dressed in black with short jet black hair asked as his hands ran over them spoke anxiously. All the while the young man spoke, the genie woman had been trying to get his attention.

"Jason... Jason." The second time she spoke was no louder nor any more rushed than the first, but it made everyone stop. That's when they noticed TJ and Cassie standing there with bemused expressions on their young faces.

"Who are you?" David asked slightly defensive. The others that had arrived with her nodded their heads; they wanted answers too.

Cassie shuffled her feet. "Um. I'm Cassie Chan and This is TJ. We umm." she backed away a little as the others advanced toward her to hear what she was saying. _No sense in being shy._ She said to herself. She squared her shoulders and straightened her back. "We helped rescue a guy and that woman." Cassie pointed to Dimitria. "Brought us here." 

"Tommy's here?!" Kat asked almost disbelieving. 

Cassie and TJ nodded. As one, eight pairs of eyes looked hopefully at Dimitria. "Would not one injured be in." the eight teens bolted out of the chamber apparently running to ... "the infirmary?" Dimitria finished unfazed. 

Cassie whistled. "Wow, they must really care about that guy." She said more to herself than anyone in particular.

"Would you any less if he were your teammate, and leader?" Dimitria inquired the two remaining teens.

TJ and Cassie looked down and shook their heads. "No, I guess not." Cassie replied. "Will he be alright?" she asked with genuine concern.

"I do not know young ones. But I must ask you to keep what you have learned this day a secret. No one must know of their true identities. Do you vow not to speak of today's events?" 

Cassie and TJ nodded solemnly. "I swear." They declared in unison.

"Please, can you tell me anything regarding his capture?" Dimitria asked. 

Cassie and TJ both told what they had seen all the way up to Dimitria pulling them away from certain death."That's when we ended up here." Cassie spoke as she finished the story.

Dimitria was quiet for a moment. "This news you have given changes matters. I grieve for Zordon's chosen." Her image faded from view, leaving Cassie and TJ left alone in the stark chamber.

****

Kat arrived at the entryway of the infirmary first. Everyone looked around first to the diagnostics table in the center of the main room of the infirmary and then to the beds alongside the left wall. Tommy was nowhere in site. "Shouldn't he be here?" Rocky asked the air. They were about to return to the main chamber when Alpha emerged from a side room. 

"Alpha, where is he?" David asked impatiently.

"Aiyaiyai Rangers. I was just preparing the emulsion tank." If it would have been possible, the Rangers believed that Alpha would have cried if he had tear ducts. "It wouldn't be wise to see him now."

"I want to see him now." Both David and Jason spoke at the same time. They looked at each other and then at Alpha.

"He's my brother, damnit!" David emphasized, sounding more like Tommy than the others cared to admit.

Alpha sputtered with a long series of Aiyaiyais. "I will allow two of you inside while I finish prepping him. The rest of you must wait in the observation room." 

Everyone looked at each other. Adam spoke up. "I think we all agree that it should be David and Jason." The others nodded in agreement. Adam looked down at Justin with sadness. He knew Tommy's condition was hitting the teenager the hardest. _He finally realizes that we can be seriously hurt._ Adam thought to himself.

****

Cassie and TJ stood around in the now deserted Main Chamber. "umm. So. You like any sports?" Cassie tried to strike up a conversation until somebody remembered they were still here. She contemplated exploring a bit, but quickly struck that idea from her mind. Who knew what kind of security this place had and she seriously doubted being found if she wound up getting lost.

TJ, figuring there was absolutely nothing else to do, answered her question."Yeah actually. I really love playing baseball. As a matter of fact, that's the reason for my bus trip. I'm moving in with my cousin who's the head coach for AGU's varsity team." TJ spoke proudly. "So umm. What do you think they're going to do with us?" He asked.

"It appears as if the immediate danger has passed. I thank you for all your help. If you have no further questions I will teleport you anywhere you would like to go." Dimitria's voice startled the two teens when they looked back at the glowing tube to see her image there. 

"Uhh. yeah. umm. I guess I'd like to go the bus station in Angel Grove. My friend is expecting me there." Cassie craned her neck

"My cousin is supposed to be picking me up there too." TJ added.

"Very well then." Dimitria spoke and before the two of them knew what was happening, they experienced a brilliant flash of light. When it cleared, they found themselves in what appeared to be a storage room. 

"Umm.. I guess we should try the door." TJ spoke uncertainly after the two of them stared at each other in utter confusion. He tried the door and found it unlocked. He opened the door and saw they were in a bus terminal.

"You think she was trying to get rid of us?" Cassie spoke. 

"Naahh... What would make you think such a thing?" 

****

David and Jason followed Alpha through a side door of the infirmary. Jason's eyes bugged when he saw how sophisticated everything looked. For the most part the Power Chamber's instruments — though far beyond Earth science — were bulky and held the air of antiques to them. The technology in this room was most assuredly not the same as the rest of the Power Chamber. This room had a decidedly organic look. His eyes wandered to the center of the room. Tommy lay shivering underneath a thin blanket on a med table in the center of the room. It was unclear whether he trembled from being cold or the after effects of Divatox's "careful ministrations." Alpha exited the room to continue preparations and give the two privacy.

The two young walked up to either side of their fallen friend and brother each catching hold of a limp yet strong hand. "Hold on Tommy, we're here now." David spoke quietly.

Jason sensed great turmoil within Tommy and wanted nothing more than to end his suffering. "We're... you're going to get through this, bro." he choked out. Grieving silence filled the room while Jason and David held Tommy's hand.

After a short while, Alpha reentered the room startling Jason when he tapped his shoulder. "I'm sorry, it's time." Jason nodded and gently placed Tommy's hand under the blanket. David did the same.

A loop formed at the foot of the bed arching up two and a half feet from the left corner to the right. It slid quietly up to the head of the bed leaving a clear glasslike tube in it's wake encasing the fallen Ranger. Once it was sealed, a bluish liquid began to fill the chamber. David and Jason both started, but Alpha stopped them from trying to break the encasement. "Don't worry. He will be able to breath the liquid." as the liquid filled the bed began moving across the floor on a track previously overlooked. It continued to move until it reached the wall and then started moving up the wall approximately four feet before it finally came to a rest, the liquid continued to rise in the chamber. 

Once it reached Tommy's chest area he began to rouse. His eyes opened appearing disoriented.. He saw the liquid filling the chamber and started to panic. Jason tried to rush for the tube but David stopped him. "He'll be alright." David made eye contact with his scared brother it seemed as if his words reached him as well, and he succumbed to the liquid and passed out. Alpha walked across the room to a monitor and checked his vitals. Appearing satisfied, he pressed a button and escorted the two teens out of the room.

****

When Alpha ushered David and Jason into the side chamber, Adam spoke. "Let's go back to the main chamber and see what Dimitria can tell us." the others nodded in silent agreement.

Once everyone was in the main chamber Tanya spoke up. "Dimitria, what... what happened to Tommy? Will he be alright?" 

Before Dimitria could give them an answer, Justin looked around confused. "Hey Dimitria? Where's those people that were here earlier?"

"I returned them to their destination." She answered cryptically. "As for Tommy, we are doing the best we can for him." She sighed audibly. "The damage done to him physically will heal."

"And mentally?" Kat asked.

"I am unsure Katherine. None have ever returned from the Vortex of Eternal Doom and Sorrow alive." 

Trey cleared his throat. "Dimitria, may I speak with you in private?" Trey's expression was forboding as he turned to the other Rangers. "My friends, I'm sorry I cannot speak of this matter to you, forgive me."

Adam spoke for everyone. "We understand Trey." Both Dimitria and Trey vanished. 

"What are we going to do? Is Tommy going to be okay?" Justin asked in a small voice.

Adam wanted to tell him everything was going to be fine and Tommy was going to be his old self in a matter of days, but the way Dimitria had spoken, alluded to a very doubtful recovery of their leader. "I'm not sure Justin. I'm not sure."

The Rangers huddled together diffident until Trey returned to the main chamber alone. "Where's Dimitria?" Rocky asked.

"She is checking on Tommy right now." Trey responded. "She also suggested that everyone should return to their homes. The repair Zords have already been deployed to aid both Angel Grove and Stone Canyon."

Rocky nodded. "I need to check on my family. I think they were in the attack zone." Everyone nodded and eventually teleported to their respective homes to check on their families. 

Trey stopped Jason just before he left. "Jason," he spoke uncomfortably. 

"Yes Trey?" Jason acknowledged him.

"You are an empath, correct?" 

Jason looked at him startled. "How did..."

Trey waved his hand. "The Triforian language is based partially on empathy. We express our language both verbally and emotionally. You respond to my empathic words as well the verbal." Trey noticed Jason's anxious expression. "When the time comes will you help your friend?"

Jason stared at Trey perplexed. "What kind of question is that? Of course, I would help him. I would do anything for him."

Trey nodded in acquiescence. "I sense the conviction in your voice." A moment of uncomfortable silence passed between them. Trey could feel Jason probing his mind trying to find out where the sudden questioning was leading but Jason was too untrained to get through Trey's mind. "You'll not find the answers to your questions in me." He sighed. "You should check on your family." Without waiting for Jason to reply to him, Trey teleported out.

"What's going on?" Jason asked himself thoroughly perplexed.

****

Dimitria viewed the file Zordon had on Tommy.

Full Name: Teme~jen Corin Tokrë-Star Dancing    
Alias: Thomas Samuel Ferrington, Thomas Corin Oliver, "Tommy"  
Date of Birth: July 17 1979 3:27AM - Terran Standard Calendar : Temaris 43.12987643 - Galactic Calendar  
Galactic ID: non-registered.  
Gender: Male-2  
Planet of Origin: Terra, Sol System - Common Name : Earth   
Species: Zen'ya, T'lilexian, Terran.   
Mother: Nalani C~el Tokrë - Star Dancing  
Planet of Origin/Species: A'sua, the Vale/ Zen'ya  
Father: Allen Trueheart  
Planet of Origin/Species: Terra, Sol System/ Terran  
Known Siblings: Pal~en David Trueheart - twin brother.  
Planet of Origin/Species: Terra, Sol System/ Terran  
psionic ratings: untrained  
_- Note -   
- high psionic levels. Suggested course to contain subject. : Svari Leeching. _

Dimitria paused. How could Zordon possibly do such a thing to another living being? Svari Leeching was used to strip psionics of their powers. It was originally meant to be a humane way to control uncooperative psionics who refused to join the Meta/Psi Combine but after extensive studies it was banned due to the discovery that people were exploiting those under Svari Leeching as living batteries to give them more power. This included everything from more personal magical energy to even ranger powers. Dimitria's thoughts paused. Ranger Powers. She quickly checked the Zeo Crystal. _No, Zordon you didn't. _Dimitria's heart sank. It was just as she feared. The Turbo Powers came not from the Zeo Crystal but another. She had to do some tracking to find the actual energy source of the Power. 

After a few days of searching, she found the source. It came from an energy sphere containing a small crystal about the size of a prong on a dinner fork. Dimitria was amazed that a crystal so tiny could put out more power than the Zeo Crystal and stay completely stable. "Computer, identify crystal type." 

After a short pause the computer responded. "Crystal identified as Zen'ya Blue Water. Composition..." 

Dimitria cut the computer off. "Thank You." She sighed in sadness, this was another black mark for Zordon. The crystal used to leech Tommy's powers came from a Zen'ya. The Blue Water were crystals embedded into Zen'ya foreheads. Zordon had a lot of explaining to do. 

****

The rangers headed toward the regular shelters to find their families. "Rocky, Dios mio! You're safe! We were so worried that you were in the attack."

Rocky calmed down his mother as best he could. "Ma, ma we're OK. We were out in the mountains. We hurried back as soon as we heard that the Power Rangers had defeated the monsters." he tried to take in a breath from the sufficating embrace his mother was giving him. "Ma, I can't... Ma, I can't breathe!" 

"Sorry, baby. Oh! you're safe." Rocky's mother released him just long enough to catch his breath before smothering him once more.

The other Rangers were greated with similiar homecomings from their families. Jason searched around the shelter he'd found his parents in after letting them know he was OK. "Mom, do you know which shelter the Olivers' went to?"

Patricia Scott looked up at her soon with sadness. "The Red Cross just issued the first list of casualties..." She couldn't meet her son's expectant gaze any longer. 

"They... they're dead aren't they?" Jason held back all of his emotions. 

Christopher Scott reached out to his son. "Jason... " his mind came to a halt noticing who wasn't with him. "Where's Tommy?" 

Jason backed away from his father not wanting to be touched. "He's... He was caught in the attack. Divatox's minions blew up his truck right before he pushed Kat out."

By this point, some of the other parents and guardians of the Rangers had gathered around to hear what had happened to Tommy. "Oh my god! Is he alright?" 

A dull pain in the back of Jason's mind kept him from answering, so Kat answered for him. "He's still alive, but he was injured pretty bad. He was life-flighted to a hospital on the other side of the mountain." She lied without thinking. How easy it had become for them to lie quickly.

Patricia asked her urgently. "Which hospital?"

"We're not sure. I wrote everything down in my address book, but I don't have it with me right now."

The pressure increased in Jason's head. "Excuse me. I think I need some air." Everyone nodded in understanding and watched the former leader of the Power Rangers find privacy. Once he was alone, he contacted the Power Chamber. "Dimitria, this is Jason come in." 

After a long pause Alpha 6 responded. "What can we do for you Jason?"

"Is the treatment going OK for Tommy?" His migraine was increasing and it became harder to focus. 

"The treatment is proceeding as predicted... Sensors indicate your biorhythms are elevated. Dimitria has requested that if this happens you return to the Power Chamber at once." Alpha replied.

Confused, Jason nodded. "All right. I'll teleport in." 

****

Jason found himself in the main chamber of the Ranger's headquarters. Alpha was nowhere in sight and Dimitria's tube was empty. "Alpha?" 

"I am right here Jason." Alpha spoke up from behind the teen startling him. 

"Alpha V used to do that to me all the time."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Alpha 6 apologized. "I went down to the infirmary to grab a hypospray for your headaches." 

"Shouldn't you do a test or something before you just give me an injection?" Jason questioned. 

"Dimitria anticipated this happening and had me prepare something just in case. I believe her prediction proved correct." Alpha injected the contents of the vile inside of the hypospray just above Jason's collarbone.

Almost immediately the pressure in the back of his head subsided. "Thanks Alpha. I'm starting to feel better already. What was in the shot anyway?"

"A neural suppressant to limit your empathic capabilities."

"How... " This day couldn't get anymore full half eluded to mysteries. 

"If you are wondering how we know, you are empathic. After Billy's failure to hold Gold Zeo Powers, Zordon discovered only an empath can hold them. It is in your record that you are an empath and that you also hide your abilities." Alpha replied matter-of-factly.

Jason nodded understanding now why every now and then Zordon would check up on him after a battle was over asking about his emotional state. After a while, he'd gotten used to it. He picked up his jacket preparing to teleport back to the shelter when he heard a voice. It was very faint and he couldn't make out what was being said. "Alpha... do you hear that?"

"No, Jason. What do you hear?"

"I thought I heard something." Shrugging it off he raised his arm to activate the teleportation. "It must of have been my imagination."

_Feel ... understand... and learn_. A faint whisper echoed through Jason's mind before he disappeared in a column of white light.

****

**To be Continued...**


	4. The Child in Us

**_Disclaimer: _**_All hail the Disney Empire! They own the characters and the show. I'm a broke college student earning nothing from this story or it's posting.  
**Author's Notes: **I'd like to thank everyone who's hung on. This story has dragged on longer than I ever planned it to. Only two more chapters left until the end . The lyrics and the title of this chapter come from Enigma._

_prasanna vadanaaM saubhaagyadaaM bhaagyadaaM  
hastaabhyaaM abhayapradaaM maNigaNair-  
naanaavidhair-bhuushhitaaM _

who is of smiling face, bestower of all fortunes,  
whose hands are ready to rescue anyone from fear,  
who is adorned by various ornaments with precious stones

**Chapter IV: The Child in Us**

"They're dead aren't they?" Tommy asked without preamble when David entered the infirmary the day after Dimitria released him from the healing pod. His brother didn't respond until he'd reached his sibling's side.

"They were in the shopping district when the monster attack hit. They. . ." David had to stop, he'd volunteered with the recovery crew to help clear away the debris and look for survivors before the repair Zords came in and reconstructed the felled buildings of both cities. He now understood why the others didn't volunteer anymore. The knowledge that they'd in some way contributed to the death weighed heavily on them, seeing the dead they couldn't save ate at them more. The image of finding the Olivers' remains would haunt him to his grave. "I don't think they suffered." He said at last.

Tommy laid motionless for a long period of time. "I saw it." he spoke into the uncomfortable silence.

David looked at him; measured his words; and his lack of emotions. "Tell me what happened in the Vortex."

The younger twin frowned. "It was like every bad memory I'd ever had played out before me. Over and over again. Talk about my life flashing before my eyes. Man, in a way I think I feel calmer. I had a long time to look at everything, and around the fifth time. . . I guess I started getting used to seeing it. It didn't hurt as much. It wasn't like my normal nightmares where everything is exaggerated and I dream about being unable to keep myself from. . ." He cleared his throat. Some things were still fresh wounds in his mind.

David reached out to comfort his brother emotionally and physically hugging him. "Don't sugar coat the pain. Trying to bury it further won't help."

"I'm not burying anything." David looked at him incredulously. "Don't look at me like that. I'm fine. So the only people I've ever been comfortable calling Mom and Dad died in a battle meant only to keep the Rangers occupied while Divatox' goons captured and tortured me." Tommy twitched involuntarily. David raised his eyebrow.

"So you're fine. So you're fine after every bad memory you've ever experienced replayed itself over and over before your eyes. And you're fine with the Olivers dying, and you're fine that you just found out that you'll never. . ."

"Stop!" Tommy burst out. David lost his balance and fell back into a nearby chair. Tommy rubbed his temple in pain. "Stop it already. I get the point." The pain in his head increased as bile threatened to rise in his throat. He looked over at his dazed brother. "I'm sorry. Oh man, what did I just do?"

David straightened himself up in his chair and thought better of standing up again, instead scooted his chair against the bed his brother lay in. "It was my fault. Dimitria told me not to get you too upset. I'll leave you alone to rest."

Tommy fought down the nausea."Wait. I. . ." By the time he was able to get that much out his brother had already walked out. "I don't want to be left alone." He spoke to the air. Less than a minute after David had left, Alpha VI came in and gave him a sedative mixed with something that eased the nausea.

* * *

Jason was in the room when Tommy awoke next. "Hey." His voice cracked from dryness. His friend poured a glass of water and handed it to him as he sat up. Before speaking again he took a healthy gulp and let it wet his throat before attempting to speak again. "Thanks." 

"No problem." Jason sat back in his chair. "David told me what happened the other day."

Tommy's eyes went wide. "What? The other day? I was out that long?"

"Dimitria also wanted me to remind you not to get too emotional." Jason said calmly. "How are you holding up? Nightmares? Feeling the need to talk?"

Tommy sighed inwardly. "I'm not thinking about hurting myself again if that's what you're getting at."

Noncommittally Jason responded."I have to ask you know. You don't. . . seem the same."

"I finally remember what happened before." He cleared his throat. "Before I came to Angel Grove."

"And was the file you read the truth?" Jason asked with concern.

"Yes and no." The injured teen wasn't ready to admit anything else yet. So much for being fine with everything he'd experienced.

"You're staying with me for awhile." Jason suddenly changed the subject.

"Ex-squeeze me?" Tommy hadn't been ready for that shift in the conversation. "What did you guys do draw straws to see who'd be on watch?" He saw Jason's face shift. "You did!" He didn't know whether to laugh or be upset.

"It was actually a toss up between me and David." Jason explained. "David said he really wanted to, but then Sam showed up and said something cryptic about tigers and falcons in the spinning circle of life." Jason smiled. "So you're stuck with me whether you like it or not. I already talked to my parents. They said they'd love to have stay you with us. I think mom just wants to 'dissect your inner psyche.'"

* * *

Adam sat alone at the Rangers' usual table in the Youth Center contemplating recent events. The Powers had been transferred to a new generation of Rangers. Dimitria's sudden desire for them to retire, threw everyone for a loop. He'd known most of them weren't ready to give up their powers; especially Tommy. Now the choice had been taken out of their hands, and they were left feeling empty from the loss of Power. _We can finally have the normal lives we've always longed for. Pretty soon we won't be teenagers anymore. _ He lowered his head depressed, and stirred the half melted smoothie in front of him. 

He thought of all the times their enemies had captured them for one purpose or another. He believed that he was finally beginning to know how Jason and Tommy felt as leaders. It was the responsibility of the team leader not to let anyone get hurt, physically or emotionally. If that meant finding a way to attract the attention of the enemy, then so be it. It wasn't until he'd had to take up the official mantel of leader that he truly went through first Jason and then Tommy's minds.

Adam's thoughts drifted to his junior high coach telling the team captain at the time that _"Son, I'm going to tell ya something about life. There's no 'I' in 'team.' The sooner you learn that the better team captain you'll be. Sometimes you have to let the other players take the risks you can't ."_ Adam smirked. When had soccer coaches become the great sages of the world? Then again this is the same man that said to the same captain. _"No matter what goes wrong in the game. It's your fault. Even when it's not. So suck it up."_

_What in the world happened to you back there, Tommy? _When Trey came back from talking to Dimitria and told them to leave the Power Chamber, they weren't able to come back for two weeks. And that was only because Divatox sent a monster attack. It was much weaker than most of her other attacks. Tanya guessed that Divatox had put so much energy into destroying Tommy, that it might be a while before she was going to be a serious threat again. He had to remind her not to get too confident on that theory, no matter how true it was.

He was glad that Jason's parents offered to take Tommy in after he was released from the Power Chamber. Everyone agreed that he should stay with one of them. Jason was the most logical choice after David. Jason was Tommy's brother in every way expect by blood.

David said he would have preferred Tommy move in with him, however he was a single father. No one expected to hear that. He'd never brought his son with him. Whenever David had came by to visit, his son always stayed on the reservation. When Kat asked why he hadn't told them sooner, the teen simply said no one had asked, and Sam thought Nathan, his son, should stay on the reservation until he was a bit older. He was only about fourteen months old after all.

Adam looked up when he heard the door open and saw Jason and Tommy entering the Youth Center. Adam sighed inwardly, Tommy had lost a lot of weight from his experience and still had to walk with a cane. And as many things surrounding the Power lately, Dimitria never really explained why. She never explained anything to them to the disgruntlement of them all. His eyes moved to Jason whom looked worse for wear. He was determined to make sure that Jason got enough rest tonight. He knew the other teen was running himself ragged watching over their friend. But sometimes the caregivers need to be cared after.

"Jase, I'm not an eggshell that's going to fall apart the moment you turn your back. Go home and get some rest I'll be fine on my own." Tommy spoke as the pair neared the table.

"Yesterday. . ." Jason began but Adam cut him off.

"Jason, you look worse than Tommy did when he came out of the infirmary. Go home and get some rest. If you're so concerned about somebody watching Tommy, I'll give him a lift back to your place on my way home." Adam felt Tommy's consternation.

"I don't need to be watched every second." Tommy said as he eased into a chair setting his cane against the table moping.

"When you can actually control the volume of the voices in your head I'll leave you alone." Jason said to him for the twelfth time this week. Tommy seemed as though he wanted to say something but changed his mind and remained silent.

Adam chuckled. "You two sound like my grandparents." He got simultaneous shudders for that one.

"Hey guys." Rocky said as he came up to them. "Hey, Adam." he turned to face the old married couple. " Hey Jase, Tom; how are you guys doing?"

"The usual." Jason said as he started heading for the door. "I think I'm going to take your advice Adam, I'm going to head out." He turned to Tommy. "See ya tonight. My mom's gonna have dinner ready at eight so be home by then OK?" Tommy nodded but said nothing else. He turned back around and headed out the door.

"Did you two have a fight or something?" Rocky asked Tommy.

"No, both of us are just tired. For some reason my mood's affecting Jason more than usual." Tommy said tiredly. He looked up at Rocky and knew the question that was tugging at him. "Go ahead, ask."

Rocky looked confused for a moment. "You're not reading my mind are you?"

Tommy shook his head. "This is no different than when I had to learn how to control the Red BattleZord. I swear sometimes I think most of the things Zordon put me through... put us all through was to get us ready for something. The Red BattleZord I think was his way of preparing me how to control my mind. So, to answer your question... no I really can't read minds unless I wanna give myself a three day migrane. Most of the time I just hear... static."

Rocky chewed that in his mouth for a moment. "OK." He shook his head. "So anyway. I was just speaking to Kim on my cousin's phone and she said that her plane would be in tomorrow afternoon. She tried to call you and Jason first but you guys weren't home and I told her about your parents. I was thinking we could all meet her at the airport and. . ." He stopped when Tommy suddenly went for his cane and stood up. "Er, dude? Where ya going?"

"I need some air. This place is feeling crowded." Tommy said with a strained voice.

Adam shot Rocky a look and smacked him upside the thead before turning back to Tommy. "Hang on! I'll give you a ride to the park."

Rocky looked after him. "What'd I say?" Sighing deeply he muttered to himself. "The angst wheel is in full force today isn't it?" After a moment he got up from the table and ordered some food.

Shortly after ordering his food, David walked in. "Hey David, over here." He flagged the teen over.

"Hey, what's going on?" David greeted Rocky.

"Nothin' much, bro." Rocky lowered his voice. "This past month has been one of the strangest I've ever experienced. And I've seen my share of weirdness. Bug people with crystals in their foreheads being the least of it."

David smiled. "Yeah, I know what you mean." sitting down at the table he remembered his reason for coming. "Oh yeah, I saw Tanya on my way here and she wanted me to ask you if you wanted to get together for a picnic. Since your phone is still out, she didn't get a chance to call you. She was hoping to get everyone together before the fall, a kind of private graduation party for all of us." Rocky noticed the inflection David made when came to graduation. It was a Ranger graduation party and a farewell for those moving on with their lives.

"Yeah sure; Does she have a date planned?" The other teen spoke as began eating his meal.

"Not yet. She's thinking next Saturday or Sunday but she wanted to see what everyone's schedule was like first before she made any final plans. She also mentioned something about peach cobbler." Tommy's brother knew just the right words to say to get Rocky's attention.

"Did you say. . . Peach cobbler? I'm in. Either day is fine for me." Rocky's eyes clouding over as he thought of the last time Tanya had made peach cobbler The only thing he could think of that could come anywhere close to topping that dessert was the sangria his cousin Rosita made for his uncle's wedding. It'd taken him five cups to realize that it wasn't punch. He shook off his reminiscing with effort. "I've been meaning to ask you something." David waited for him to continue. "When are you going to bring Nathen around? Come on, I know you've gotta have a picture of him in your wallet!"

"I think your fries are starting to get cold." David replied simply lamely side-stepping the question.

"What?" The teen was momentarily thrown off by the comment before he looked down at his food and noticed he'd hardly touched it. "Right. Are you going to order anything?"

"No. I still need to track down Justin and Carlos. I think they're at the soccer field next to Angel Grove High." David stood up to leave. "I'll see you around?" Rocky nodded. The other teen bade his farewell and left the Youth Center.

Rocky sat alone realizing that David hadn't answered his question before leaving. "What in the world is going on?"

* * *

"Mamma, I'm tired of waiting for that annoying former Power Puke to kick it. I thought you said. . ."Divatox would have continued on with her rant had her mother not raised her hand. 

"Divatox darling, what did we learn from the former Red Ranger's dive into the Vortex?" Mamma D asked in a very sanguine voice.

"That Tommy is an even more thorn in my side than Elgar?" her daughter replied.

"Hey!" Elgar piped in but quickly fell silent at the look his relatives gave him.

"No darling. It proves our information was correct." Mamma D could see the gleam of sheer joy crossing her daughter's face.

"Porto! Get your windowed butt in here!" She bellowed.

"Yes Divatox?" The nerdy port hole looking pirate replied.

"Raid the treasure deck and hire a little going away present for those former Power Brats."

Porto's expression remained blank for a few moments before he realized who it was they were hiring. When it finally dawned on him; if he could have bugged his eyes out, he would have. "You can't be serious. That'll drain our extra spending for the next 400 years!"

"It'll be worth it be finally rid of that. . . that Halfling that ruined my wedding plans." The pirate's eye twitched in irritation.

"Well, since you put it that way." Porto immediately left. Not wanting to incur the wrath of the red clad dominatrix.

* * *

Tommy sat in Adam's car. "Hey, man. Are you OK?" Adam asked. The other teen sat with his hands covering his face unanswering. Concerned, Adam reached out to touch his arm when his friend drew in a deep breath and took his hands away from his face. It seemed as if he were trying his hardest to hold back his emotions. 

"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm thinking of leaving for awhile. Sort a few things out." He answered without looking at Adam. "Dimitria suggested that I go to Phaedos. I could hone my skills as a Ninjetti."

Tommy's voice concerned Adam greatly. It was dead and flat. "I thought you couldn't.. well you know. Hold Powers anymore."

"The Ninjetti Powers aren't exactly Ranger Powers. They can be used as a power source for Ranger Powers, but they aren't Ranger Powers by themselves." Tommy explained. "At least that's what Dimitria told me when I asked her."

Adam was growing concerned about his friend's mood. "Are you sure you still want to go to the park? Maybe I should take you home." As soon as he said the last word he regretted it. That's what was bothering him. "I'm sorry. . . Do you want to talk about it?" He tried to sound caring without coming across as pitying his friend. That was the last thing he wanted Tommy to feel right now. Besides, maybe. . .

"No, I'm. . ." Tommy paused. Adam knew that he was about to say that he was fine; but they both knew that was far from the truth. "I thought I'd come to terms with everything in the vortex. One minute it feels like another lifetime that my parents died. And another it feels like it just happened yesterday. I'd only just started thinking of them as my parents before they died."

Tommy fell silent and Adam let the silence hang. He tried to think of something to say. Something that wouldn't sound pathetic. "Look Tommy, I know this is going to sound corny but, if you need to talk about it. We're here."

The bereaved teen set his jaw then unclenched it after a moment. His expression completely unreadable. "When I'm ready. I will."

Adam was only half satisfied with that answer. "Just don't let it eat you up inside. We care a lot about you."

Tommy did his best to smile reassuringly at his friend. "I know. And I appreciate what all you guys have done for me." Heaving a tired sigh, Tommy conceded. "I think I wore myself out more than I thought. Can you take me back to Jason's?"

Adam nodded. "Sure."

* * *

The ride to Jason's went without further conversation. Adam noticed half way there, Tommy had already fallen asleep. Once they'd gotten to the house he nudged Tommy on the shoulder. "Hey, Tommy. Wake up. We're here." 

The other teen inhaled and shook his head to get rid of the sleep. "I fell asleep?" Adam nodded wordlessly. "Yeah I guess I really am tired." With Adam's help he got out of the car and to the house.

"Oh, hi Adam, Tommy you look like you're ready to fall down. Come here and sit on the couch." Mrs. Scott greeted the boys as they entered the house.

"Mrs. Scott, if you don't mind. I think I'd rather go to my room right now." Tommy asked quietly.

Patricia Scott sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me 'Pat'?" without waiting for Tommy to answer she went on. "You look like you're about to fall down, dear. Do you need any help getting up the stairs?"

"No. I think I'll manage." Tommy put a little more energy into his voice to reassure her. Before making the arduous journey to the former guest room that had now become his.

Patricia guided Adam to the large couch by the window. "Adam, have a seat. Is there anything you would like to drink?"

Adam shook his head. "No, thank you. I should probably get going." He began edging toward the door.

"Can you stay for a moment? I wanted to ask you a few questions about the boys." Patricia's expression was earnest, but otherwise unreadable.

Adam debated on whether or not he should stay. He had the distinct feeling he knew what her questions would be about. "I can stay for a little bit. I'm not due back home for a few hours."

Patricia nodded and the two sat down on the couch. "In that case, are you sure there's nothing I can get you? There are a few sodas, and some cookies in the kitchen."

Adam caved in. Pat's cookies were legendary. "Sure I'll have a couple of cookies. What kind of soda do you have?"

Pat smiled. "Grape, Pepsi, and Mountain Dew. We also have Kiwi Strawberry Lemonade, 2, and Aquifina."

"I'll take the milk." Adam replied feeling like he was in grade school again.

"Good choice." Patricia left and get the milk and cookies. She returned a moment later with a plate piled with homemade chocolate chip cookies and a tall glass of milk.

"So what do you want to know?" Adam asked after biting into the scrumptious confection.

"Are you Power Rangers?"

Adam nearly chocked on the cookie. Coughing, he picked up the glass of milk and drank the glass half empty before he could say anything. "What gave you that idea?" he paused to try and collect his thoughts. "No, not to my knowledge. I don't think I really know who the Power Rangers are."

Patricia eyed him carefully. Adam had to be careful when he was around Mrs. Scott. She was a psychiatrist and most of them had been lucky that she hadn't caught on sooner. . . or maybe she had. "You're not Power Rangers? None of you? Not Jason, Tommy, Rocky, Tanya, or Kat?"

Adam answered more confidently. "No. I don't think so. I can't answer for any of the others but I know for certain Jason, Tommy and myself aren't. I've been with them when the Rangers were defending the city." So far he hadn't lied. He prayed she didn't start asking specific questions.

"So you've never been Power Rangers?" That did it. Her eyes narrowed as she studied his face. "I'm asking because of their dreams. Both Jason and Tommy have had debilitating nightmares. It's scary how insynch the nightmares seem at times, as if they're both experiencing the same exact dream." Her eyes were like blades going into Adam, searching out the truth.

Just then, Jason came down the stairs. "Hey Adam. What're you doing here?"

Adam sighed in relief. "I gave Tommy a ride back, and your mom was kind enough to give me some of her famous cookies. Tommy's sleeping off his medication."

"Yeah, I just checked on him." Jason spoke as he neared the couch.

He reached a hand toward a cookie when his mother swatted his hand away. "Did you clean your room?"

Jason deflated. "Not yet."

"Well, you know the rule. No sweets before chores." His mother said sternly.

Adam saw his opportunity to leave. "Well, I should be going. I still have a few things to do before I need to be back home. Thanks again Mrs. Scott for the cookies." He made for the door when Pat's voice stopped him.

"Hold it right there, Adam Jai Park. Jason Lee Scott, stay right where you are." The first thing that ran through Adam's mind was. _So that's where Jason got the 'Leader Voice' from._ "Please tell me what's going on." She asked earnestly. "I look at all of you and I see strangers. You've all grown up way too fast. Please tell me. Is it true? Are you Power Rangers?"

* * *

Tommy stared blankly at the ceiling. Every time he closed his eyes he kept imagining his parents crying out for him to save them. Whenever he got close enough to help them the Vortex pulled him back in and the torture would start again. The thing that got to him the most was the fact that he didn't wake up screaming from the most gruesome of the nightmares anymore. He woke up screaming from dreams when nothing happened. Sometimes there was nothing more terrifying than a dream where no one treated him as if he were some kind of freak to be held at arms length. 

He began thinking that this reality was a new form of punishment the Vortex was throwing at him. Maybe it had learned that the torture and the nightmares weren't hurting him anymore and they'd torture him with being loved. He wouldn't give in. He wouldn't let the Vortex win. He'd prove to himself that this was reality and not the nightmare. He sat up. _I wonder if I can still call on it?_ He concentrated for a moment and nothing happened. _Guess I have to do it the old fashioned way._ He got up and walked across the room and searched through one of the boxes he'd stowed away in the closet when he'd moved into the Scott's house. The hunting dagger Sam had given him after he'd been reunited with David was in there somewhere.

When he found it, he quietly went to the half bath attached to his room. He closed the door and stared at the knife. He knew what he had to do. This would prove he was still in the Vortex. He held out the bare forearm opposite the one holding the knife and made a shallow cut. It stung and blood flowed freely. For the first time in what seemed ages he felt alive again. There was pain. This was the real world. He could affect things here.

He dropped the knife; watching the trail of blood flow down his arm brought him back to the promise he'd made to a friend. A broken promise now. Covering the cut with his free hand he curled into a ball and shook as silent tears began falling.

The visage of a ghostly woman appeared behind him. Her expression was sad yet comforting if anyone could have seen her. She wrapped ghostly arms around him, his ears heard a quiet song that caused him to drift into a dreamless sleep.

_ Jangankan biar hilang semua yang telah diberi  
Jangankan pergi rasa manusiawi dan naluri diri  
Biar bumi tetap bersinar di bawah mentari  
Agar kita tetap bersinar di bawah mentari ...  
(_bahasa indonesian - translation in chapter V

To be continued.. 


	5. Je Suis à Toi

**_Disclaimer: _**_All hail the Disney Empire! They own the characters and the show. I'm a broke college student earning nothing from this story or it's posting.  
**Author's Notes: **I'd like to thank everyone who's hung on. This story has dragged on longer than I ever planned it to. Only one more chapters left until the end ._

Give those gifts from Heaven no way to vanish  
Don't let humanity and self instinct fade away  
Let the ground beneath our feet keep shining by the morning light  
Then we can keep the light within as long as we live under the same sun  
(Translation of bahasa indonesian from Chapter IV)

**Chapter V: Je Suis à Toi **

"I'm open!" Justin yelled out as he ran down the field. Taylor nodded and kicked the soccer ball, passing it to the pre-teen. Justin caught the ball just before Erin could steal it away. He searched for an opening but they had him blocked in pretty tight against scoring a goal. He paused on the field preparing to fire the ball into the goal when he faked the shot and whipped it back to Taylor, with a chip pass, whom immediately drilled it into the net.

The small crowd on the sidelines cheered as the game ended. The Angel Grove Saints had just won there fourth victory in a row. Justin was slapped on the back by every team member for his great team play that won them another victory when his communicator went off. He quickly scanned the crowd to find to find Carlos and Ashley whom had been watching the game in the small bleachers. They spotted him and motioned him away from the field and the crowd. "Alpha says there's a monster attacking the business district." Ashley spoke when Justin had drawn near. Justin nodded and then the three Rangers morphed and teleported to the battle.

The monster was a typical monster Divatox sent whenever she had nothing better to do, and in between insidious plots to capture, kill, or maim a Ranger. None of her attacks had been as hard hitting as the one that nearly destroyed two cities as per Dimitria's prediction. She was still licking her wounds and testing the new Turbo Rangers finding out their weaknesses on the field. This was neither the time to be stupid or to show everyone's best hand. About a week ago, a new Ranger had appeared out of no where. The Phantom Ranger was a mystery to everyone and a few of the Rangers and former Rangers thought it was Tommy or Billy until Dimitria notified them after an appearance that Tommy and Billy were catching up on old times via the subspace communications network when the Phantom Ranger made one of his appearances.

With the monster destroyed a second time after going building size, the Rangers teleported to the Power Chamber to assess the damage to their Zords. They also needed to find out if there were any other annoyances Divatox had thrown at them while they were distracted by the monster, as well as the ever depressing scanning for casualties that didn't make it to evacuation areas before the battle hit.

When they arrived they saw the rare presence of Tommy in the main chamber. "Hey Tommy!" TJ spoke up. "What's up?"

"Just watching the battle." Tommy mumbled then teleported out.

Cassie watched as he left. "What's wrong with him?" The others shrugged.

"I think he's probably a little down that he couldn't help." Ashley surmised and the others nodded in agreement.

* * *

Two hours Earlier...

Tommy laid in bed contemplating the past few months. Next month the current Rangers would be starting a new year at Angel Grove High; Jason would be starting his first semester in college along with most of the others; Kat was moving back to Australia; and Tanya was going to stay around a bit and go to Angel Grove Community College with Jason, Adam, and Rocky. They'd all discussed going to UCLA or another big school right out but most of the other people they'd known that went to the major universities regretted taking their basic classes at smaller schools. "The only thing you really have to worry about is making absolutely sure that your classes transfer. Oh, and don't bother going for their degree programs if you know what university you want to go to. Just talk to one of the program specialists there and ask them what classes you'll need to concentrate on the field you want to go into. That way you save a big wad of money and have more hands on experience in some cases." Jason's cousin had told them.

He'd gotten a video message from Billy a few months back letting them all know how he was doing on Aquitar and that he'd actually managed to secure a position doing ship design research at one of their shipping yards in orbit. It was nice to hear from him even if most of their communications weren't direct. Most of the others got together once a month or so and sent messages keeping him in the loop as much as possible. Sometimes it seemed that Billy was closer to them now than the last few months he was on Earth.

David had come and visited him a few days ago. He wanted him to meet Nathan, his sixteen month old son. It was still hard to believe that he was an uncle at the age of nineteen. But there it was, his brother had shown him a picture of his son last week. The child was a spitting image of him. When he'd looked at the photo he got a strange thought into his head. He supposed it wasn't so strange when he really thought about it.

The Vortex had done more than strip him of his Powers and activate the repressed abilities he'd kept locked away for the better part of his life, it had also made him incapable of having children. It was something that only Dimitria, Alpha, and David knew. He saw no reason to let the others know. He took a sharp breath in and shook away the bitter and envious thoughts he had for his brother whom had continued their rather cursed line.

His thoughts were washed away by the tone of his communicator going off. He sighed. "Time for another treatment." with a tired voice he answered the summons. "Is it that time Alpha?"

Instead of Alpha's perpetual chipper voice Dimitria's voice came through the communications device. "Tommy, please teleport to the Power Chamber, there is a matter we must discuss."

Tommy blinked. That was new. "Alright, I'm on my way." Tommy was grateful that Adam and Alpha had figured out the imbalance that caused the teleport system to try and rip him apart when he they tried to use it on him. He hated Dimitria having to use her powers to teleport him separately from the rest of the group.

* * *

In the main chamber of the Power Chamber, Dimitria awaited him in her accustomed spot. "Tommy, am I correct in assuming you would like to discontinue the weekly subcutaneous neural suppressing injections?"

"Would I?" Tommy said excitedly. Then he paused. "What's the catch? Am I going to have to leave now?"

"You are correct in assuming that there is a catch, however, I do not believe the time is right that you leave now. Do you?" Dimitria smiled.

Tommy turned as he heard Alpha VI enter the main chamber. "Hi Tommy. I have something for you."

"Adam, Alpha and I have worked on a device that would act more as a filter than as an inhibitor to your unveiled abilities. However, as Adam put it, you would rather die than where a device that made you look like you rode the," she paused a moment making sure she used the correct phrasing Adam used. "the special bus to school."

Tommy silently thanked Adam. "Adam thought right I guess. At this point I'd do almost anything to get out of taking that stuff. Afterwards I always feel groggy and Jason too even though he doesn't take it." He thought for a moment. "He doesn't take the same stuff does he?"

Dimitria gave him a straightforward answer, something she'd been doing gradually over the past few months. "No, we realized very quickly that the two of you had formed a bond and giving you both inhibitors may prove taxing on both of you. Alpha? If you would please?"

Alpha nodded, "Right Dimitria." with that, the android presented Tommy with a small ring size box. Tommy took it questioning and then opened the box. Inside he saw a thick ring with a slight bend to it. He took it out of the box and realized that the ring wasn't complete. He looked up questioning.

"Place it on your left ear. The device was designed to conform to you and only you." Dimitria answered directly again.

Wary, Tommy did as told and the ring attached firmly to the upper part of his ear. After a slight bit of pain as if he was getting a piercing, the pain subsided and he could no longer feel the ring on his hear. "Oh, it's an ear cuff." He spoke to the air.

"How do you feel?" Dimitria asked.

Tommy was silent for a moment, listening within and without. "I don't feel any different." He spoke after a moment's pause.

"Good, Alpha and I worked on making the device without adverse side effects as well as making it as small and as comfortable as possible. We will continue to monitor your vital signs in order to ensure compatibility with your system." At that moment the monster alarms went off and Tommy observed the view screen to see a monster attacking the business district. His heart longed to go back into action but he knew he was still healing and Powerless. "Alpha please contact the Rangers, and Tommy, might it be reasonable that you stayed here until the battle has ended?"

Tommy sighed inwardly. "Yes, I'll stay here." He watched enviously at the battle until it's predictable conclusion.

* * *

September had arrived, and the current team of Rangers were preparing for a new year in High School while Adam, Rocky, Jason, and Tanya prepared for their first semester at Angel Grove Community College. After much debate, Kat decided to attend a prestigious dance school in Australia. She wanted to stay around but the school had offered her a full scholarship with extra money left over for comfortable living expenses. If she'd still been a Ranger, she would have turned them down; however, now she was free to follow her dreams. She'd left with a party and a smile three weeks prior with a vow to return over Christmas break. As for Tommy, Dimitria had already discussed plans for him to leave for Phaedos as soon as he'd healed enough to make the trip safely.

Adam and Tanya sat in the Park family living room watching a movie and eating theater-style popcorn. A scene in which an angry mother cornered her kids and chocked the truth out of them, reminded Tanya of the story Cassie told her last month when Mrs. Scott suddenly teleported to the Power Chamber and after a moment's awe, only a moment's awe, she preceded to bitch the veil off of Dimitria's face. She chuckled, she was sure Cassie was exaggerating a bit but that still didn't make the mental image any less humorous.

"OK the scene wasn't that funny." Adam prodded her when she actually laughed out loud.

"Oh it's not the scene itself, It reminded me about the story Cassie told me when Mrs. Scott teleported to the Power Chamber." She chuckled a bit more not noticing Adam's squirm. "How do you suppose she got a hold of Jason's old communicator? And I could have sworn that only someone with Powers could teleport without someone in the Power Chamber lowering the security protocols." She noticed Adam's guilty look. "Adam? How did Jason's mom teleport to the Power Chamber? Don't tell me you.. You did! Adam how could you?" Tanya looked sternly at her boyfriend. "Zordon entrusted us to keep our indentities a secret from _everyone_!"

"You don't understand! That woman was on the war path! I dropped Tommy off and she cornered me!" Adam buckled.

"You've thrown her off the path before, what was different three weeks ago?" Tanya crossed her arms. Adam was glad that Tanya and Pat didn't compare notes on how to torture the truth out of someone just by speaking to them.

"She asked directly this time. She named us all! Well except for the new team. But she had us all pegged! She even knew Rocky and Justin were Rangers!" Adam stood up and walked toward the kitchen to grab a glass of water and perhaps a bottle of milk of magnesia now that he thought about it.

Tanya got up from the couch and followed him into the kitchen, the movie completely forgotten. "That still doesn't mean you should have told her the truth. You could have just left."

"First Middle Last Tanya.. She used my full name.. Jason tried to help me escape but she called his full name too.. You _know_ there's no defense against the full name." Adam pleaded.

Sighing Tanya patted Adam on the back. "It's OK honey, I understand.. Now spill the beans." She spoke the last bit firmly while grabbing his chin to face her.

Adam looked her in the eyes and knew there was no escape. "Jason gave her his old morpher and his communicator so that she could get in." Tanya looked like she was going to have an objection. "The only reason why we both went along with it is because both he and Tommy have been talking in their sleep." Adam left it up to Tanya to figure out what might have been said during either of their former teammates dreams.

"Would you like to hear some good news?" Tanya smiled. Her boyfriend merely looked at here with a bland face. "I got the internship with KAGV Radio." Adam's face immediately lit up.

Jumping up he engulfed his girlfriend in a hug. "That's great.. Let's tell the guys." He started for the door when Tanya grabbed his arm. "Can we celebrate privately first?"

Adam stumbled when 'privately' hit his ears. He gulped. "What time is it?" He looked past her toward the microwave clock, it was half past six. "My parents won't be back until ten." There was a long pause between the two of them before they both darted to Adam's bedroom at the same time.

To celebrate her promotion and internship at KAGV Radio that allotted her a very nice scholarship towards a Broadcasting degree from Angel Grove Community College, Tanya set up a semi-formal dinner for the occasion. Fall was in full swing and Sweetest Day was two weeks away. She'd made reservations at the Rainforest Cafe in one of their private rooms to fit the large group of Rangers, and former Rangers including David.

Rocky, Adam, Tommy, David, Tanya, and Jason arrived at roughly the same time at the restaurant awaiting only the current Rangers to finish cleanup duties after a bomb threat had nearly cancelled their entire dinner. Just as the matre'd seated them in the closed off room, the Rangers showed up slightly out of breath. "Sorry we're late, we had to take care of.." TJ trailed off as he noticed the waiter coming in and filling their water glasses. "that extra assignment." he finished lamely.

"That's fine, we just got here as too." Adam reassured the new leader.

"Hey Tanya, you think they have any of that mahi mahi? I had some last summer and it was delicious!" Rocky asked his one time teammate. Everyone groaned at Rocky's customary food statement.

"Um, Rocky, isn't mahi mahi dolphin?" Justin asked playfully.

Rocky's eyes bugged slightly when he heard this. "But it's so good! how could it be a dolphin?"

Adam laughed and patted his friend on the shoulder. "It's a dolphin fish, not a dolphin. You're safe, bro. You didn't eat Flipper." Rocky sighed in relief and picked up his menu as he took his seat.

Everyone else took their seats as well around the expanded table. In an almost unconscious manner, the group sat opposite their counterparts with Jason and David sitting across from each other, and Ashley with no one directly in front of her. The talk centered mostly around Tanya's promotion and the two crazy monkeys hanging around that Mr. Stone had taken in. "So do you think the humane society will make detective. I mean Mr. Stone hand over the monkeys?" Justin asked Cassie.

"No, I think they'll let him keep them. At least for a while, they seem to behave themselves for the most part; and Stone has demonstrated that he can take care of them." Cassie replied thoughtfully.

Justin's expression brightened. "That's great. I'm glad they'll have a decent home instead of being in a lab cage somewhere."

Nods went around the table as the the food arrived and Rocky's eyes went large as he noticed Carlos had a pile of food larger than his when the servers had finished bringing everyone's orders. "Hey! How come you got more than I did? No fair!"

"Rocky, don't you ever think of anything else besides food?" Adam asked.

Rocky mocked horror. "Food is not the only thing I think about, I'll have you know! It just happens to be what's all around."

The table conversations became non sequitur as everyone settled in and began to enjoy themselves. When it became time to order dessert, Tommy felt a growing migraine in his head as the dinner progressed. He tried to concentrate on the conversations around him but his vision began to swim. Jason looked over at him worriedly, but he managed to focus enough to reassure him that it was nothing more than a mild headache. He excused himself and went to the restroom at the back of the establishment.

Once inside he grabbed a large wad of paper towels, locked himself in a stall, rolled up his sleeve and stared at the intricate cuts on his upper left arm that trailed down just below his elbow to where to the first cuts without thought to a design began. The pain from cutting himself always seemed to help him focus, to help him see what was real and dull the pain of the voices in his head. He'd managed to hide the cuts from Jason for the past month but he knew he'd eventually find out. But for now the pain had to go away. That's all that mattered now, he started with a small cut and then twisted the knife so it arched downward around his biceps.

* * *

Jason sat across from David with a worried expression, everyone seemed to think that Tommy was doing better, but somehow he sensed that it was all a charade. Tommy was hiding something from him and he couldn't quite figure out what it was. "David, have you noticed Tommy acting, I don't know, strange lately?"

David shook his head. "I don't get to hang around him that much, so I'm not sure what his normal reactions are in the group. But I do know there's something he wants to tell you, but hasn't known how to ask."

"What do you mean? What is it?" Jason asked, Tommy's brother.

"I don't know what it is that he wants to tell you, I just know that he has something on his mind that he wanted to tell you." David replied softly so that the others wouldn't pay attention to their conversation. "Something about a broken promise."

A sudden foreboding came over Jason. "Excuse me."

The others noticed his abrupt rising. "Hey Jase, is everything OK?" TJ asked.

Jason bit back the bile rising in his throat. "Yeah, I think I'm going to go see how Tommy's doing." Then he quickly left for the restrooms.

* * *

Mama D walked onto the bridge of her daughter's ship with a flare. "I see you still haven't disposed of your pitiful cousin."

Divatox turned to face her mother with arms stretched wide, "Mama! You're back!" The two approached each other with a smile and arms open wide for a hug.. just before contact was made however they gagged and stopped. "So," Divatox spoke after recovering. "What brings you back so soon? Is it time to start the next step in the plan?" She asks her mother eagerly.

Mama D shakes her head. "I just came to check up on how things are going? Is he torturing himself yet?" There was of course no need to specify about whom they were speaking.

Divatox responded. "Oh beautifully, he's actually cutting himself. It sends shivers of excitement through my spine every time he does it. Torturing from afar is so fun!"

"We have to have patience dear. I know you want to speed up his torture but what we have planned only has one chance of succeeding. We can't mess it up by acting pre-maturely." Mama D consoled her ambitious daughter.

"I know that. But it's tough wasting money on those second rate dolts to keep the Rangers from figuring out our plan." She grumbled.

"Don't think of it as wasting money but buying your distraction for the major payoff. This will be the last generation of Power Rangers Zordon ever rears." The two cackled as they watched Tommy self destruct.

When Jason entered the men's room he made a bee-line for the stall he _knew_ Tommy was in and forced it open. There on the stool was Tommy with a hunting knife in his hand cutting his arm. Jason's ire was so great his face turned red but he didn't say a word. It took him several moments to gain enough control to move and when he did he went for the paper towels and cleaned Tommy's arm up noting the other healed scars on his arm. He looked at Tommy's face but the young man wouldn't look him in the eye. He wrapped the towels around so that they wouldn't show and took the knife away from his friend. His former leader and subordinate made no move to reclaim the sharp object.

He led Tommy back to the entrance to the private room the Rangers had reserved. "Hey guys, Tommy's not feeling well, I think I'm going to take him home. I'll catch up with you guys tomorrow alright?" Jason said as calmly as he could.

The others sensed there was something going on but had the sense not to make a scene. "Hey sure thing, see you guys later." David spoke up knowing or at least having a fairly good idea of what was going on.

* * *

Even though the ride back to Jason's house was only fifteen minutes the weighted silence that engulfed the vehicle made it seem much longer. Tommy eyes stared blankly out of the side window while Jason's eyes were positioned pointedly forward. Once they reached the house Tommy didn't move and Jason didn't bother looking over at him he simply got out of the car and walked around to the passenger door and yanked his friend out of the car and led him woodenly to the door.

Pat noticed Jason's car pulling into the driveway earlier than she expected. When she looked out of the kitchen she saw the serious look on Jason's face and the utter blankness on Tommy's face. She knew immediately that something was wrong but by the looks of it she'd get nothing now. She decided to test her theory when the two walked into the house through the kitchen. "Hey boys, How was dinner?" Neither looked in her direction or even acknowledged her presence. _This is serious_. She thought. She was going to give them one day to sort everything out, and then it was her turn.

When Jason got to his room he deposited Tommy on his desk chair and went to his private bath and grabbed his first aid kit. He redressed the cuts with a proper dressing without word. When he completed his task he put the first aid kit back in the bathroom where he kept it and then sat on his bed staring at his friend, saying absolutely nothing.

After an eternity of silence Tommy spoke without looking at Jason. "I'm sorry. I.."

Jason cut him off. "How long?" Tommy looked up at him, opened his mouth but nothing came out. "How long have you been doing this?" Jason asked again.

Tommy wanted to look away but he knew he couldn't keep it to himself any longer. "About six weeks." His voice was soft but it didn't quiver. After a moment he tore his eyes away and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Jason asked at the ready.

"To pack my things." came the wooden response.

"What for? You aren't leaving." The last was said with such demand that Tommy plopped right back into the chair he'd been sitting in. "We have to talk."

"You mean I have to explain." Tommy said mildly defeated. When Jason remained silent he inhaled and started at the beginning. "Ever since.." His throat closed up. "I can't do it." He shook his head.

"You have to. If you don't it'll eat you alive." Jason told him in a calming voice. He noticed Tommy's expression and knew that he really did want to confide in him, however, there was something keeping him back. "Why can't you tell me?"

The former Red Zeo Ranger gathered his strength but it still wasn't quite enough to speak what he was feeling so he did the only thing he could think of. Got up from his chair and walked over to his friend and grabbed his wrist. _This is what I can't tell anyone._ Was the only preamble he gave Jason before a torrent of memories rushed through their link.

After only a few moments Jason broke contact, staggering slightly. "I thought.." Jason spoke as he processed what had just occurred."I thought I knew most of it. I was wrong." Jason squelched his desire to have Dimitria suggest a way for him to get professional counseling. "I'm here for you, Bro. You aren't alone. Know that. Believe it." He grabbed Tommy's shoulders and looked him firmly in the eye. Tommy nodded silently, and Jason felt that some of the proverbial weight had lifted from his former teammate's shoulders.

Tommy suddenly sniffed the air and looked around. A second later Jason joined in the sniffing. Their bodies unconsciously nearing the door. "Do you smell that?" Tommy asked in a near hypnotized voice. "It's chocolate and walnuts."

Jason took in a deep breath "No, dear god! It's not chocolate. It's fudge! Mom's making fudge brownies!" His mouth began to salivate. As Tommy neared the door, Jason came back to his senses. "NO Tommy don't! Don't open the door! It's a trap!" But it was too late, his best friend has already halfway down the stairs. He thought to himself before heading after the poor unfortunate soul, _I swear mom could give the Spanish Inquisition a run for their money! _She probably noticed how early we got back from the restaurant and is now going to pry the information out of us by force of food. If Adam thought he had a tough time standing up to the cookies, Tommy had zero chance of remaining unscathed after the brownies. Those wonderful confections were a pound of pure heaven.

* * *

Pat gave the boys a full hour before she set her plan into motion. She knew that if the reason for her son and Tommy's early return had to do with their dreams or more specifically—Tommy's dreams by the looks of things—she would more than likely get nothing out of them no matter how hard she prodded. Which would probably depress both of them to sulking around for a month. To forestall this, she decided on the perfect preemptive strike; brownies, not just any brownies would do however, her triple weighted fudge brownies with walnuts were the perfect attack.

Soon after the boys headed upstairs, Pat went to her friend's shop where she usually bought her chocolate from. Diane had the best supply of ingredients you could buy without leaving the country. She was world famous with her small shop, but not very many people in town knew about her. After chatting with her for a few minutes, Pat returned home and did a quick check for the boys. "Good, they're still upstairs." She spoke to herself. Just as the brownies were ready she grabbed a fan from the closet and positioned it by the stairs. The way the vents in the house were made, it sometimes took as much as an hour for smells downstairs to reach the upstairs. This would not work for her plans, for the best results, the brownies needed to be warm. After turning the fan on, she returned to the kitchen and waited patiently by the confectionery delight.

Less than two minutes after the fan was turned on Pat heard the sound of a teenager running for the stairs and then her son's voice. "...door! It's a trap!" Smiling she picked up the plate of cooling brownies and held them out for the teen rounding the corner with the best large-watery-eyed-lost puppy look she'd ever seen. She nearly felt guilty for wanting to pry after he took the first bite.. nearly. "I didn't think you guys were at the restaurant long enough for dessert, so I made some brownies." She said the best Mrs. Beaver impression she could muster.

"Is it really OK?" Tommy asked with a voice that seemed to have reverted to a ten year old's.

Pat smiled. "Yes you can have one. Just one, they're a bit.." Two brownies had already disappeared from her plate. She looked up in bewilderment only to see that the boy in front of her was licking his fingers and not a single trace of the missing desserts could be seen, not even a crumb on the side of his face. "Oh, well that' s..." Pat was left speechless as Jason came up and snatched his own.

"Thanks, Mom." Jason patted her on the shoulder seeing that she was still in shock.

* * *

Two days later, Pat had just returned from her office when she heard a knock on the door. She looked out the curtains to see who it would be since it was a slightly irregular time for someone to stop by—especially knocking on the front door. She saw a delivery van parked in front of the mailbox. "I hope Walter didn't buy another one of those god awful lamps again."

She opened the door to receive the package. "Hi, I have a delivery here for." The deliver guy paused to check the name on his clipboard. "Tommy Oliver."

"I'll sign for it, he's not here at the moment." Patricia's curiosity churned until she saw the return address. Trini Kwan and Zack Taylor. After signing for the package, she set it down on the kitchen counter for Tommy after he and his friends returned from the matinee.

* * *

David, wanting to spend more time with his brother came along after the matinee was over.

When the three teens got to Jason's home his mother came down the stairs and said, "Oh, hi boys. Tommy, you got a package from Zack & Trini. I left it on the kitchen table for you." She turned to Jason. "Remember what I said, 'dull roar.'"

Jason nodded. "Make sure we make at least a dull roar of noise, got it." He smiled at his mother who gave him a stern look. "I know I know, keep the noise down. Come on guys, let's see what Zack & Trini sent."

The four teens bounded into the kitchen, an uneasy feeling came over Tommy but he quickly dismissed it. He opened up the package to see that there was a letter attached to another sealed package. He quickly read through the letter.

Dear Tommy,

in Zack's handwriting Hey, what's up? It's been awhile since we've been able to see everyone. We appreciate how everyone's kept in touch over the past couple of years. When Jason told us what happened last May, we tried our best to get back but the recent attack on the embassy increased the security around the campus so teleporting out without being noticed or getting clearance to go back to the States was out of the question. We know you're probably internalizing everything so we thought it would be a good idea for you to keep a journal.

in Trini's handwriting A while back Zack & I befriended a girl from England that we had classes together with. Her dad is a leather smith and so after what happened we asked her if her dad would make a journal for you. Zack and I came up with the symbol on the front and the seal on the side from memory. We thought it would be the best way for you to vent since you never really tell people exactly what's bugging you. It's about time that you healed those old wounds. We contacted Dimitria and she cast a spell on the side strap that has the seal. It'll only open to you or whoever else you want to read it if you decide to share it. The incantation to unlock it to others is on the inside. Take care of yourself little dragon

in Zack's handwriting Yeah, take care of yourself and just between you and me. there's someone real special that wants to go out with you from the old team but never asked you. Personally I think the two of you would make a great couple. The only thing you have to do is convince 'em that you're interested. You'd be crazy not to be.

See ya at Christmas,

Trini & Zack

in Trini's handwriting PS You had better read this letter first before opening the package or else buddy!

Tommy passed the letter to Jason and then opened up the second package. He dropped the book as soon as he saw the cover. The journal was made from a very high quality soft lamb skin dyed a dark hunter green. On the cover of the journal was the symbol of the Green Dragon Dino Coin. It was the journal that couldn't exist. The journal from a reoccurring dream that always ended in death.

David bent down and picked up the blank journal. "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the symbol?" he asked having discerned that the embossed symbol on the cover had caused his brother to drop it.

Tommy regained his composure and took the green journal back from David with slightly shaking hands. "Nothing really. I wasn't expecting to see that symbol ever again." He paused looking at his brother whom he knew was waiting for a further explanation. "That symbol is from the first Powers I held. The Powers I held as the Green Ranger. My memories of that time aren't.. the best." He half explained. David knew it was only a half answer but knew enough that half an answer was the only one he'd get for now.

Jason froze as he read Trini and Zack's letter, _He wouldn't have, why did Zack have to say something?_ Jason pondered quietly, very quietly. Forcing himself to act normally, he realized that the journal was the perfect solution to Tommy's troubles. He could the journal as a catharsis—the purge all of his fears and doubts into the journal—in order to heal.

* * *

Rocky turned up the radio to his favorite song that was playing on the radio as he headed to the shelter to pick up Justin. The day was an average warm bright sunny day. He pulled into the parking lot and headed inside to look for his former teammate. Upon entering he bumped into Karen, one of the volunteers.

"Hey Karen, Sorry for bumping into you." Rocky apologized.

"It's nothing. So, How are you doing Rockwell?" Karen asked. She was one of the few people to actually use his full first name without a scolding tone. It was a nice change.

"Oh, I'm doing fine. Um.. you wouldn't happen to know where Justin is by chance would you?" Rocky couldn't figure out why he was so nervous all of a sudden.

"Oh he's in the back playing basketball with some of the other kids." She smiled with a brilliance Rocky hadn't quite noticed before.

He shook his head quickly. "Thanks. I'll catch up with you later OK?" He finished as he headed for the basketball courts behind the building.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan." She called after him.

Just before he reached the doors that led to the courts, Rocky spotted Justin walking toward him with his backpack. "Oh, sorry I wasn't out front." Justin apologized. "I was playing a game with Eric and the others."

"No worries." Rocky replied. "So, are you ready to go to the park?"

"Yeah. Oh, and did you see Karen?" Justin said Karen's name slower for emphasis.

Rocky responded oblivious to Justin's intimation. "Yeah she told me you were back here."

Justin rolled his eyes. _Adults, they could be so clueless sometimes._ He thought.

* * *

For several nights after receiving the journal Tommy had the same dream every night. The dream never changed, the events played out in the exact same order, the people in his dream always wore the same exact clothing, and said the same exact things. Three days before Sweetest Day he put away his fears and opened the journal that Trini and Zack had sent him. Inside the front cover was a paragraph that wasn't in english. The ink appeared to be a different color from different angles.

With his mind made up he grabbed a pen and began to write. He wrote about everything on his mind. Before he knew it he'd already written ten pages before finally falling back to sleep, the journal laying half open on his lap with the pen still in his hand.

The next morning Pat knocked gently on Tommy's door, when he didn't answer she opened the door and peaked in. She saw the journal laying on the bed and for a brief instant thought about reading it. The thought was quickly put out of her mind and she walked over to the bed, closed the book without looking at a single word and took the pen out of Tommy's hand. She left the room to go knock on Jason's door to find that he was already up and showered.

"Is Tommy up yet?" Jason asked his mother.

"No, I thought I'd let him sleep a little longer." Pat spoke as she turned around to head down stairs.

* * *

The first week of November was affectionately known as Hell Week for freshmen at Angel Grove Community College, during this time the most grueling of mid-terms were scheduled. Jason managed to luck out with his classes and only ended up having one mid-term paper to write which he'd finished earlier in the week leaving his weekend completely open. His father had just returned from one of his business trips and decided to go on a weekend getaway with is wife, with a stern warning to Jason not to have a house party.

A house party was far from Jason's mind this weekend. He'd just started a new job at one of the local donjons as a part-time instructor. Between his classes, volunteering at the Youth Center, and his new job he wanted this weekend to vegetate in front of the TV. Tommy had begun spending most of his mornings training with Dimitria and participated in the same after school volunteer program as he did teaching karate to kids at the Youth Center. Jason felt time slowing, without having to worry about being called out of class to save the day and the daily activities that surrounded being a Ranger.

Before retiring for the night, Jason stopped by the Blockbuster two blocks away from his house and rented a couple movies. He rented _Heat_ with Al Pacino and _Dune _ directed by David Lynch. He'd seen _Heat_ before but had only heard mixed reviews for the latter film. He decided to go with _Dune_, deciding from what he knew of the director his mind would be thoroughly engaged in the film in order to get through it.

When he returned home, he found Tommy laying on the couch watching TGIF without bothering to look in his direction the teen greeted him. "Hey Jase, did you get Legend?"

"No, they didn't have it. I picked up Dune instead and Heat for backup." Jason replied.

Tommy snickered and sat up looking at his best friend. "Backup huh?" Jason gave him an unamused look. "Ok, So it was only funny to me. So are we watching it here or in the basement?"

Jason shrugged, "Since Mom and Dad won't be back until Sunday, I guess we can watch it in here." Tommy nodded. Before taking his place on the large couch, Jason took off his jacket and put the movie into the VCR making sure to grab the remote while he was at it.

As the short-haired teen pressed play, Tommy asked. "Which version is this? I don't think I can watch the regular version. I think it caused permanent brain damage."

"It's the director's cut relax, bro. I wouldn't put us both through that torture. The reviews were mixed as it was for this version." Jason replied rolling his eyes.

"I saw the theater version, it was bad. I thought I saw hints of good story, but.." he shuddered. With no further objections Jason started the movie.

As the movie droned on Tommy stretched out on the couch much to Jason's utter discomfort for the long haired half-alien rested his head on his lap. "Do you have to do that?" He asked uncomfortably.

"I pulled something in my hip earlier today sparring with Adam and laying down makes it feel better. Move if you want." The response contained a challenge. Not one to back down, Jason stayed exactly where he was.

* * *

"Father.. Father! The sleeper has awaken!" Came the quote from the screen. Jason couldn't take it anymore.

The longer Tommy's head lay upon his lap the more he wanted his friend. It was becoming exceedingly difficult to remain calm. That's when he heard a sigh of disappointment from the other teen. It must have been his imagination.

Tommy closed his eyes for a brief moment and then grabbed the remote turning off the movie in the process. Jason starred down at him in confusion. "We need to talk." Jason's heart raced.

"Why'd you stop the movie, bro?" The short haired teen tried his best to think of anything besides the head on his lap. The face that stared back at him as impassive. Frustrated, Jason stood up moving Tommy off of him. "We don't have to have this conversation." He started walking toward the stairs.

"We needed to talk about this four years ago." Brown eyes stared accusingly at the dark haired teen's back.

"You couldn't handle it four years ago." Came the dead response.

"I can handle it now." The voice was directly behind Jason.

With great determination forced what he was feeling to the back of his mind and decided to play unfairly. "What about Kim?" He could almost feel his friend's shudder.

"That's not fair Jason."

"You still care about her. The two of you should be together. You and I both know that there was no other guy." Jason needed to play dirty. It was too much to ask for anything else. Tommy was his best friend and things were going to stay the way they were. He turned around and looked at his hurting friend.

"I don't care. She made her decision. After the island we had a talk and I realized that I couldn't trust her again. She wouldn't tell me why she dumped me. And for some reason I get the impression that even if she did tell me why, it would take a very long time to forgiver her. Any relationship we could have had died there." The long-haired teen's voice cracked. Jason had nearly found out the reason for Kim's rash actions two years ago when they went scuba diving. Divatox's intervention however ended any chance he would have had about getting to the bottom of the break up of two of his closest friends.

Jason sat down on the second to last step of the stairs. He wished that they could hold off this talk a little longer. "After that I called Zack." After hearing that all hopes Jason thought he had of escape were gone.

Praying that Zack would have kept his mouth shut, but after the message he got a week after Divatox had kidnapped him and his letter to Tommy only a week ago eliminated all but one possible topic. "So what did he have to say?"

Tommy's shoulder's dropped as he looked down at his friend. "What do you think he said? He didn't _say_ anything. But he didn't deny anything that I asked him either."

"I'm gay." Jason said with his head down, barely above a whisper.

"I couldn't here you." Tommy spoke. Jason raised his head with a look of mild defeat.

Through clenched teeth Jason repeated his declaration. "I'm gay." After a short pause he added looking away. "Are you happy n—"

The short-haired teen didn't get the chance to finish his sentence before Tommy engulfed him in a warm hug. "Thank you for telling me. I've been waiting four years for you to say that." He backed away slowly and sat on the floor at the foot of the stairs with his back against the wall.

"So, you aren't going to say the same thing?" Jason asked.

Tommy smirked. "Are you kidding? I'm straight. I just wanted to hear you tell me that you were gay so that we could get rid of all this tension."

"You can't be serious. I've been keeping this secret from you and that's all the reaction I get?" Jason asked.

"Look. I'm pretty sure that you told Kim, Trini, Billy, and Zack before I showed up and then had them stay silent about it after I became the Green Ranger. Am I right?"

"Yes." Came the dry response.

"I could have handled it then Jase. It wouldn't have changed things between us." Tommy paused for a moment unsure if he wanted to continue. "You being in love with me. That. That's what I had trouble dealing with."

Jason's eyes flew wide. "I'm not.. I." He stammered. The link between them was wide open, and he knew there was no denying his feelings. "So what does that mean for us now."

"What do you want it to mean?" Tommy moved from the floor to the bottom step looking at him intently.

"But you told me you were straight." Jason responded.

"I am. But that doesn't mean that I have to turn away from my friend." Tommy told him earnestly.

Jason stood up angrily. "That's not what I want from you!"

Tommy joined him. "And I don't want to die alone!" His eyes widened not believing his own words. Suddenly becoming uncomfortable the long-haired teen turned from the stairs, going into the kitchen.

"Tommy wait." Jason chased after him. Catching up to him before the other teen could grab his keys from the key rack by the counter. "What's going on?"

Tommy debated on how much he could tell Jason. "The journal." he began. "I dreamed about it before Trini and Zack sent it. I died in the dream." He watched Jason take a seat on the stool near the high counter before taking the high stool next to him. "Every time I have the dream it's always the same it never changes. I hadn't had the dream for a week after I started writing in it. Until last night."

Jason soaked everything in. "How long have you been having the dream?"

"Since the Vortex." He replied quietly.

"The dream was a part of what you showed me." Jason searched and was rewarded with a nod. "Were you alone?"

"Until last night, yes. Until last night the dream always ended with me breaking my promise to you. My promise not to kill myself." He added quietly.

"What changed?" Jason tried to remain calm.

"I made a choice. I let you in." Tommy couldn't look at him. Jason got the impression that if he could see his friend's eyes, they'd be red.

"So you lived at the end of last night's dream?" Jason asked hopefully.

"I died at peace with myself and the knowledge that my friends' lives were safe." Came the correction.

Jason's heart quickened. "When you're old and gray, right? When you're old and gray?" he pleaded.

"No." Tommy's voice was little more than a whisper. Jason stood up and embraced friend tightly. A moment later, Tommy's arms raised and returned the embrace.

Jason asked no more questions and sent a silent curse to the powers that be for giving him what he'd asked for. He silently led Tommy to his room. When he went to turn away, the other teen refused to let him go. "Stay."

"Tommy, I don't think I can—" Jason stopped. "Ok. But in the morning we're going to have another talk."

* * *

Pat couldn't believe her husband had gotten them a weekend getaway in Puerto Nuevo. After getting checked into Las Rocas they headed straight to the resort's main beach and watched the sun set. She couldn't remember the last time Sam had done something like this. It almost felt like they were dating again. She fell in love all over again.

"Well you see honey, the hotel in San Diego double booked us. The company that owns the hotel also owns the resort. I made a couple of phone calls and let them know how serious an infringement upon our company this was, they gladly set us up in the penthouse here." Sam explained later that night when Pat asked how they'd managed to get such a deal.

"You had nothing at all to do with the double booking?" Pat asked, suspicious.

"I have no idea who Mr. U. S. Grant could possibly be." Sam replied straight faced.

Pat gave him a stern look. "That was underhanded and down right sneaky, Sam!" her face melted into a smile. "I love you."

"That's why I married you."

* * *

The next morning Pat decided to check in on the kids. She decided to wait until eleven before calling giving the boys ample time to sleep in. She tried the house line and after several rings got the answering machine. She left a quick message with the change of the hotel, before trying Jason's line which connected to both Jason and Tommy's rooms. After getting his machine Pat became worried. She knew it was irrational. She tried it one more time before getting a very groggy "yeah."

"Jason, honey?" Pat asked.

"Nope, got Tommy." _God, he sounds dead._ Pat thought to herself.

"I'm sorry to wake you is Jason up?" Pat's worry meter went up. Those boys had better not have had a house party last night. Over the line she hurt the phone drop and a loud curse followed by a long string of curses in Spanish and English she wasn't aware Tommy knew.

"Mom?" Jason's voice held extreme surprise.

"Jason? Is anything wrong?" From the sound of it, Jason had been in Tommy's room. _Good lord! What were those two doing last night?_ Pat let her mind travel a few inches and immediately thought better of asking.

"No, just woke up. Um. How's the hotel?"

"Oh, there was a mix up and so your dad and I are spending the weekend in Puerto Nuevo at one of the resorts. I left all the information on the answering machine in the living room. Make sure you check it and write it all down. We'll be back Sunday evening no later than 10pm." Pat paused debating whether or not to ask about the party. Deciding to be the good nosey mother, "So, did you guys have a party last night? It's awfully late to sleep in."

There was a long pause and hushed voices before Jason answered. "No, mom. Tommy and I had a talk. It was a bit draining."

Pat sighed. Jason's message was clear. They'd finally talked about his sexuality. She unconsciously thought back to her earlier assumption and quickly replaced it. "So I take it that you two are—"

"No! No, we just talked. We're friends that's it." _I think you said that a little too quickly Jason_. Pat thought.

"Well just be safe. Before we left your dad left a box for you in your sock drawer. Just in case." Pat smiled.

She could here Jason choke on the other side. "What!"

"Have fun dear." Pat hung up the phone. Sam's last trip was to Seattle with one of his co-workers who happened to be a lesbian. After Sam told her about his son. She went to a toy shop and bought a gift box to take home to his son. Pat had been mortified, however the box contained pamphlets that her son would probably find interesting and perhaps keep him safe.

* * *

Tommy lay in a deep dreamless sleep. He heard an alarm go off and slapped his arm around until he had the alarm clock and threw it across the room. Once it hit the wall, the sound stopped and he fell once again into a dreamless sleep. The alarm sounded again this time a bit louder to his ears and realized around the third or fourth ring that it was the phone he was hearing. "yeah." He muttered when he picked up the phone.

"Jason, honey?" Pat's voice came through the receiver.

"Nope, got Tommy." He muttered, consciousness slowly creeping its way from whatever dark hole it had crawled under.

"I'm sorry to wake you is Jason up?" Tommy wiped the sleep from his eyes and finally noticed that his bed was a little too warm. He turned around to see Jason's head and necked shoulders laying against him. He dropped the phone, jumped out of bed and yelled out a string of obscenities that shocked even his own ears.

"What are you doing in my bed!" Tommy thought enough to look down and to stock of his own state of dress. Though he wasn't wearing a shirt he still had on the pants he was wearing last night He looked at Jason who seemed to be taking a similar self checklist and noticed that he too was wearing his pants. Still trying to assimilate what was going on he pointed to the phone lying on the floor. "Mom, your mom's on the phone." He stammered.

Jason shakily picked up the receiver. "Mom?" Tommy heard Pat's voice and watched as Jason sought calm. "No, just woke up. Um. How's the hotel?" He nodded several times taking in the information his mother was giving him. He rolled his eyes and put his hand over the phone. "Mom, wants to know what happened last night. I want her to know."

Tommy nodded. "Just don't go into details yet. We still have things to talk about."

Jason nodded. "No, mom. Tommy and I had a talk. It was a bit draining." That was all the information his mother needed. At least it had better. Jason's face turned beet red. "No! No, we just talked. We're friends that's it." _I think you said that a little too quickly Jason_. Tommy thought. "What!" Jason choked out. Then stared at the phone as if it suddenly turned into a nine headed snake.

"What'd she say?" Tommy asked wondering what could have gotten a reaction like that out of his best friend.

"Um, nothing. I'll tell you later." Jason switched topics. "So, breakfast or lunch?"

"Breakfast. You beat the eggs. I'll cook the sausage."

* * *

"Mama, mind if I invite someone to Thanksgiving dinner?" Rocky asked his mother nervously.

"Sure baby, who? Karen? She's such a nice girl. Her mother's always telling me what a fine girl she is. Get's straight A's—" Rocky's mother carried on as she folded clothes.

"Mama!" Rocky couldn't believe her. "Fine, fine. Yes I asked Karen, her parents live in Miami and she doesn't have enough money to pay for two round trip tickets so she's going to buy tickets for Christmas break."

"Oh and she's not dating anyone right now she'd make an excellent—" His mother rattled on.

"Mama!" Rocky dropped his shoulders and gave up trying to talk to her.

* * *

"So was this supposed to be poached, scrambled, or fried?" Tommy asked poking at his eggs.

"Poached." Came the dry response.

"I think you should ask your mom for some more cooking lessons." Tommy ducked as the wet wash cloth came flying toward him. "So. About that talk."

"A bit anxious aren't we?" Jason sat across the table trying to pretend that his staring was anything other than what it actually was.

"Well, with you undressing me with your eyes every chance you get, I do feel a little nervous." Tommy told him pointedly.

"I'm sorry. It's just that—"

Tommy cut him off. "So where do you want to start?"

"Well, let's start by the fact that you said you're straight." Jason picked up the dishes and took them over to the sink.

"I am. You're just you." Tommy said.

"So, if say. Rocky came on to you?" Jason asked after rinsing off the plates.

"I'd turn him down. The only reason I'm even thinking about this is that stupid li—" Tommy stopped, he'd said the wrong thing. Now Jason would think that he was confusing his feelings. "Jase, you're my best friend. My _best_ friend."

* * *

After a long Sunday drive back to Angel Grove, Pat and Sam pulled into the driveway of their home both breathing a sigh of relief that at least the exterior of the house looked intact. Upon entering they received the shock of their lives. The house was actually clean. The only sign Pat saw of the two boys was a blanket left carelessly on the couch. "It's enough to make a mother proud." Pat smiled. "Boys! We're home!" She called out loudly.

When she didn't hear a reply she become concerned. "Boys?" It was only half past nine, too soon for either of them to be asleep and both of their vehicles were still in the driveway. She padded softly up the stairs, Sam close behind her.

They reached Tommy's room first. Sam came around her and rapped softly on his door. "Tommy? We're back." Again no answer and this time Sam peaked his head into the room and noticed that the room was empty. He leaned backed and shrugged. "He's not in there." Continuing on to Jason's room. Sam repeated the process. Knocking lightly on Jason's door. "Jason?" When again he received no reply he peaked into the room. He saw Tommy laying in bed next to Jason fully clothed yet intimately entwined with his son. He turned back to Pat and they quietly entered the room and pulled to covers over the two boys. Pat leaned down and kissed the two teens on the forehead. "Be strong for one another." Both she and Sam exited the room.

"Do you think they'll be OK?" Sam asked.

"I think they'll be fine." Pat answered her husband and the two went to find their own room.

* * *

To be Continued.. 


End file.
